I Wanna Be an Idol!
by JayF SB
Summary: The Queen of Escalation killed a God. The Idol of Escalation will win his heart!
1. Live 1

**I Wanna Be An Idol!**

 **Live 1**

 **A:N/ Damn thing came to me in a fevered dream.**

 **Open for suggestions for songs to cover too.**

 **/x/**  
Director Piggot looked at the empty cell. The empty space where Glenn was supposed to be seemed to mock her, more so than usual considering how life seemed to make it a priority to make her existence miserable on general purpose. Piggot wished she was still on dialysis, since it didn't involved getting mixed into the more ridiculous side of capedom.

"So Glenn Chambers had triggered a few hours ago after some pop idol failed to win an election for top starlet in a sham of a contest He lost his shit, burnt his merchandise, wrote a fifty thousand word screed cursing the production company online, spammed said screed about Idol Hell all over the internet and PHO before he triggered as some Trump who causes young teenage girls to trigger as well?"

Armsmaster wiped off some kind of sparkly dust from the visor on his helmet as he replied.

"Yes, Director. After Glenn was being escorted to a cell for vetting in case of Master/Stranger interference, Shadow Stalker who was escorting him took one of his namecards that he produced from his suit that appeared on him after he triggered. Assault who accompanied her was taken down by the Mastered Stalker's new abilities."

It was also a very nice suit, thought Armsmaster. Glenn was never a snappy dresser or took much care of his physical appearance despite his position as head of the PRT Public Relations. The trigger took care of that, but those name cards though...

"And Shadow Stalker? Why is she holding an impromptu concert in the cafeteria right now?"

It was worrying, the way Glenn's induced triggers seemed to have a inbuilt Breaker power. Catchy tunes though and Armsmaster liked how the strobe lights complemented Stalker's newly accquired gothic and frilly costume. The catchy pop tune the Ward was currently belting out was full of feel good nonsense and pure cheese. But true to her image, Shadow Stalker's new Song had the right blend of dark imagery, synthesizers and those little crimson devils that appeared when she gives a wink to the audience is simply captivating.

If only said captive audience wasn't the PRT troopers sent in to subdue her, she'd be an epic boon to the Ward's image.

"We've requested Dragon's suits to assist in subduing the Mastered Shadow Stalker, Director. Though if the material we've retrieved from Glenn's suitcase is any indication, the effect shoudl wear off after," The Tinker referred to the purloined document. "The eighth song. When the Live ends."

Piggot rubbed the bridge of her nose. This was going to be one of _those_ capes. Really, really annoying ones. And what the hell is a Live?

"We have a name for our new Trump?"

Armsmaster tried to keep a straight face as he said it. He had lots of practice.

"Producer. The Mastered capes we are referring to as Idols."  
/x/

Producer Glenn looked over the looked over the crowd pouring out of Winslow High School with a seasoned eye, tutting as he mentally crossed out the possible candidates.

"Hmm, brown with slight freckles. Petite but...not the look I'm going for. Maybe the junior idol sub unit further down the road."

It was so frustrating. The student body at Arcadia had so much potential, but the school administration kept calling the police on him after he approached one of the younger, more promising blondes with his cards. What savages!

"Ahh, that redhead surrounded by the flock looks promising...but she looks too poised. Probably already had some two bit hack sinking his claws into her. Such a waste."

Producer shook his head sadly, stuffing the stack of name cards he had prepared back into his suit pocket. Until he felt his Vision tingle again.

" What's this? How does that beanpole with...wait." The Producer cranked his Vision harder as his gaze drilled towards the gangly girl with the wavy hair currently being talked down to by that redhead. Glenn felt his breath taken away when he saw the potential harbouring within her. He straightened his suit, marching briskly towards the talent currently being crowded around by gawkers following the manufactured redhead.

Bunch of crows squawking about a future graceful swan. Pathetic.

Producer brushed aside the crowd, ignoring their protests and death threats as he produced one of his cards towards the tearing girl who was staring at him with widened eyes. He gave his most sincere smile that somehow got the police called on him in Arcadia. But since it's Winslow, he figured no one will care.

"You have a wonderful smile, Miss. Would you like to be a star?"  
/x/

"911. What's your emergency."

"...What do you mean you want to report a creepy stalker in a suit handing out name cards?"


	2. Live 2

**I Wanna Be An Idol!**

 **Live 2**

 **A/N. Just a small slice since I'm at work. Will finish up the chapter with a Tay Tay scene later.**

 **/x/**

Sophia Hess's face burned. Not with actual flames mind you, but the Ward certainly wished it was real fire as it would be less shameful.

"I'm gonna kill that fat fuck Chambers by stuffing the mic down his throat! Then I'm going to kill Clockblocker and Vista for taping down the duet I had with Kid Win."

Sophia found muttering dark murderous thoughts very helpful in dispelling any feelings of shame that lingered in her mind. The memories of her prancing around in that outfit were distressing. Though she did like the hair accessories and the pink hat hair brooch was so cute! Chris is kinda dreamy with his brown hair too, but Vista is totally adorab...

Okay, Sophia. Mind of the Predator. Eye of the Tiger. Just think about taking down that greasy slimeball Chambers for now. Trick me into taking one of his name cards will he. You've got a nice scowl my ass.

Footsteps outside her cell caught her attention. As part of the isolation protocol,the visitors to her cell were ten feet away, but the sound travels well in the empty room and she can see them clearly in the video screen. Sophia frowned as she saw Kid Win, in his civvie ID of Chris looking all sheepish, hiding something behind his back.

"What the fuck do you want. Upset that I...ki...ki...fuck it. Kissed you during the duet?"

Sophia swore she's going to gut Vista first, then Clockblocker just for giggling like that. What's Vista laughing about? Sophia had her twirling around with a silly grin on the face when she grabbed the younger Ward for a duet in the encore of her last song- Glass No Hanazono. Nice singing voice on that girl though, and she's got great stage presence considering neither one of them could speak a lick of Japanese prior to...

Okay. Kill the fat fuck _slowly._

Chris's face turned bright red as he stammered at the mention of the smooch she gave him during their cover of Phantom of the Opera. Or maybe he's just upset over the fact she put him into a bright yellow ball gown during the performance. The Tinker pulled out a notebook from his back, holding it with two hands towards the camera.

"C.C..C...Can I have your autograph? Your video's a major hit on PHO right now. I think every video streaming sight just broke a million views in the past four hours."

Sophia let loose with a torrent of the most profane German she picked up from the time she was stalking some Empire 88 goons. It sounded right since she felt English wasn't up to scratch in expressing her righteous indignation. So why the fuck are Clockblocker and Vista laughing like that?

"I knew it! Shadow Stalker's gone full Chuunibyou! Pay up Clockblocker!"

Sophia had no idea what the hell is a Chew Knee Bureau, but she's going to kill Vista first for that.

But after dance practice of course. Her footwork during the Live was awful!


	3. Live 25

**I Wanna Be An Idol!**

Live 2.5

A/N It is kind of sad that my crackish stories are so much more well received than my serious ones.  
...Well enough of the pity party. Time to go balls to the wall!

/x/

Taylor Hebert stared at the strange pudgy man in a rather well tailored suit who's giving her the most creepy smile this side of a death mask. The peculiar nature of the encounter short circuited her brain so much all the build up threatening to overwhelm her well trained emotional defenses and have her crying in public evaporated like a puddle under the midday sun. The lankly teen gripped onto her note book, her pale face growing paler at the sight of this weirdo, forming a bright contrast to the bright red scarf she's wearing to ward off the early January cold. Taylor decided she should do the rational thing and puffed her cheeks before screaming.

"Someone call the police!"

The _good_ thing about studying in a gang training academy was that there's police around all the time. Sometimes, they're there to ID the bodies or to take non-statements from surly gang members. But sometimes, they do their jobs as two burly patrolmen pushed through the crowd and tackled the stalker onto the ground.

"Miss! I'm serious. You've got so much hidden potential in you. Let me unwrap Oww!"

"All right buddy. Stop making it easier for the judge to convict you by creeping on teenagers in front of us." The policeman snarled as he waved his baton menacingly. "We've got a nice, crowded cell full of your new friends who'd love to _unwrap_ your talent."

"Hey Joe." The other police currently handling their favorite brand of criminal to rough up narrowed his eyes at their quarry. "Isn't this guy the same stalker that Arcadia High's been bugging us about?"

"Huh." Joe looked at the perp currently in their hands. "Looks like a job well done then. C'mon buddy. Up you go."

Taylor watch bemusedly as the stalker was hauled off by the police, as she felt her head hurt over the sight of the police actually doing their jobs in Winslow. Even Emma looked like she felt genuine pity as she alternated her gaze between the departing cops and herself.

"Y'know something Tay? I'm not surprised it takes a complete creep like that guy to approach you over me. " A cruel smirk reappeared on the lightly made up face of her former bestie. "Guess you're not completely repulsive to others huh?"

Taylor felt the familiar and unwelcome stab of pain as betrayal once again plunged a knife into her callused heart. Taylor spun on her heels, ignoring the ensuing chorus of jeers and teenage taunts while she clutched onto her notebook while making a beeline to the bus stop. At least Emma and her goons didn't rip apart her cape drawings and stories again. As the bus for once kept to the scheduled time, Taylor paid her fare before slinking into her seat at the very back of the bus.

Just ignore them. Hide away in the dark corners until they go away, Taylor. Don't let them hurt you. Seal off your emotions and hurt. They'll get bored.

The lanky teen shuddered as she suppressed her surging emotion. Gingerly, she cracked open the notebook that hid within it the world where she wasn't despised universally, with only a few oasis of helpless pity in between. It was also a reminder of a time when she'd spend hours with Emma, dreaming of the great feats they'd perform when they're heroes of justice, making the world a better place.

"What the..."

What happened to her notes? Her drawings? The costumes have all changed, leather, spandex and steel replaced with satin, silk and fluff. Grim determination swapped with cheerful exuberance meant to ignite the feelings of a crowd of thousands upon thousands. Taylor rubbed her eyes as she snapped the book shut, took a moment to compose herself before she cracked open the tome once again.

Once again, the unfamiliar drawings greeted her. Detailed notes of powers and movement in combat replaced by instructions on dance move, cues on switching vocals and covering for the mistakes for the centre by switching moves on the fly. Taylor caught herself humming along to the tune of someone's pop music that was being played too loud over too poor quality speakers on the phone by someone lacking in basic manners. The teen snapped the book shut with a thud, laying her head against the seat as she tried to stop herself from humming along. The choppiness of the tune due to the faulty speakers annoyed her, even as she mentally played over the possible dance steps to go with the flow. Taylor raised the notebook over her face, quirking an eyebrow as a white card fell out of it and landed softly like a feather on the filthy floor.

"Producer Glenn Chambers. Pro Talents Agency?" Taylor muttered to herself as she idly looked over the black letters in Gothic cursive over a cream background. Her lips quirked into a smirk as she looked at the cellphone number listed below the name and other contact details.

Taylor left the card on the bus floor as she left the bus, not noticing it crumble into dust as she left the vehicle.

/x/

"What are you doing here? How did you escape from the police?"

Taylor state coldly as she glared at the suited cape whom she suspected had desecrated her notebook even as he stood in front of her gate, head bowed and his name card held out towards her with both hands.

"Glenn Chambers at your service, Miss. May I have the honour of knowing your name?"

Taylor snorted at the deference shown to her, even as a part of her felt flustered at the sight of an adult showing this much humility directed at her. The teen stood unmoving in front of him, hands pulling on her scarf before she shook her head at the sheer pigheadness and walked past him towards her home. But before she went past him, Taylor paused and decided the man should at least have her name for his troubles.

"Taylor Hebert. Now go away before the police find you."

"There was a big star by your name, you know." Taylor paused as she was four steps from the strange cape, her head turning back to the suited figure.

"She was on another Earth, not Aleph but some other world nonetheless. But the one my Vision told me about was a tragic one. She died even as she blossomed. Tragic but beautiful her passing was. An artist and a searing sun who sang her swan song before an audience of hundred thousands and watched by hundred of millions more."

Taylor turned around to face the Producer, her curiosity piqued.

"And you're saying I have the potential to be like her?" A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "Will I die like her too?"

"Never! As long as I draw breath I will not allow one star under my care to come to harm!"

Taylor wanted to doubt the raving lunatic, but she felt a song on her lips and a tune in her ears as she looked at the burning determination within the eyes of the man...no in the eyes of Producer.

"Miss Hebert. Please I beg of you, let me see your smile!"

The young teen remembered the words and jeers wielded as knives plunged into her when she dared to crack a smile at her former friend, the sneers that seared into her memories.  
But maybe, just this once...

"Beautiful. Please let me share this with the world!"

Taylor had seen herself smile once before. Crooked to one side, lips so thin as to resemble worms and mussed up hair do not a star in the making look. But the sincerity on display and Producer had rejected Emma's polished poise and grace for her teenage unease and awkwardness. The young Hebert looked at the card still being held out before her, the cursive black letters calling to her.

A pale, thin hand reached out gingerly towards the extended card and Taylor saw the words glow and she was engulfed in light and a song burst from her heart.

 **Idolise!**


	4. Live 3 Act 1

****I Wanna Be An Idol!****

Live 3-Act 1

/x/

Danny Hebert arrived to his house, his used red sedan with the faded paint job screeching as both the frame and the engine of the aged vehicle protested at being forced to function. The Hebert patriarch would prefer a newer vehicle that doesn't threaten to fail on him at the most inopportune moment, but that would require money. Money of which he is sorely short of, especially since he is struggling to handle both the daily expenses, the costs of Taylor's medical treatment and the looming spectre of another bill for his daughter's mental health treatment. That the police eventually found her in that locker after someone had filed the missing persons report may have saved her, but a part of her died in that metal box. Danny struggled to banish the thoughts that haunted him again as he went through the police report of what was found inside the locker and what his girl had went through.

"Annette, if only you were here."

Losing his wife had left him with a hole in his soul, much like Taylor left a part of her in that locker. Trudging through the grey skies and chilly wind that cut his face despite it being only four in the afternoon, Danny thought that the dreary weather was a fitting companion for the average life of the common Brocktonian. Struggling with his keys, the balding Hebert swore a blue streak under his breath as he realised he had left his home keys inside. He shambled towards the door, the steps creaking as he climbed on the first wooden plank on the steps before he heard something he hadn't heard for a long time since Taylor came back from summer camp.

Laughter. Not even the bitter laughter he heard Taylor emit when she thought no one was looking, or even the canned laughter of the television when either one of them was watching something distracting on the box. It was a gentle, warm laughter with a musical lilt. that spoke of warm summer days in the meadows and the smell of freshly cut grass on the bright sunny afternoon. He heard rustling of shopping bags and despite his worry for the finances Danny pressed down the frustration of money spent where it shouldn't be spent and tried to focus on the fact his teenage daughter had regained some of her cheer. Putting on his best smile and banishing the fatigue he was feeling, Danny rapped on the door which prompted a scrambled rustling of the paper bags he could hear being hastily grabbed and put aside.

"Dad's home! What if he sees all these that I've bought! We're not exactly flush with cash!"

Ahh. Adolescent short-sighted behaviour and the rush to hide it from their parents. How nostalgic. His nose picked up the scent of perfume and from the few occasions when he met high society during special occasions when the Mayor pretends to care about the Dockworkers, the scent Taylor choose wasn't exactly snatched from the discount store. Danny felt it harder to prevent his temper from flaring up. Such expensive tastes if not nipped in the bud was a recipe for financial disaster. He will have to make a mental note to inform his girl about that.

"What's there to worry about? All these was bought under my account after all"

Hmm, the deep baritone of a man. And while it's not unheard of for teenage boys to sound like a bass blowing a tuba, most teenage boys don't have expense accounts. Danny felt his alarm and ire rise at the same time and wondered if he would be able to prevent himself from murdering this predator.

"Taylor, I know you're inside. Open this door _now_!"

Danny winced as he felt his voice raise at the end of his sentence, wondering if it was counter-productive. The wooden door soon gave way and bright light from within the living room soon flooded the grey dreary porch the older Hebert was standing on. But Danny soon found the light from the lighting inside the house wasn't the only one thing that was shining.

"Taylor, you...look beautiful."

Danny always regarded his little girl was the most beautiful young woman in the world in his own eyes. But now, she may objectively be so in the eyes of others. Danny gaped at the stylish light pink jacket over a shimmering white blouse with lace running along the chest and a red clip on tie, brightly adorned with an elegant star pattern. In place of her usual bashful ensemble of jeans and plain sneakers, his daughter wore a black skirt that just hovered above the knees with, a leather belt with a stylish silver buckle in a star design that reflected the light. Black stockings over her exposed legs and still brightly polished leather heels with red buckles made her legs appear far more toned and longer than they used to be. Her thin lips had a shade of light crimson lipstick, which made them appear far more puffy and full than they really are. Eyebrows plucked and trimmed complemented the eye shadow applied and the the earrings with two gold adorned pearls shone like stars on the side of her head. Danny felt his eyes drawn to the light silver necklace that rested on her neck over her open collar, the mini piano keys adorning it looking like droplets of water reflecting the sun. A bright red beret with green trimmings covered her recently redone hair, which now flowed like stalks of ripe barely in the winter breeze.

"Thanks Dad."

Taylor _smiled_ and Danny felt his breath taken away again. He almost wanted to search for a Halo on the head of his little girl who is now a radiant diva. The older Hebert felt a twinge of pain as the vision before reminded him of his dearly departed wife, when she was at her most glamorous. Danny noticed that the nails on the hands of his daughter, once trimmed neatly with zero frills were now expertly manicured and buffed as they shimmered like chitin on a lady bug, while the scent of expensive perfume reminded him of the danger he had sensed that was stalking his girl. Sure enough, Danny noticed a tall man, muscular but with a visible belly in a suit standing up from the couch with a stony look that went perfectly well with the thinning brown hair. The older Hebert had seen gargoyles with warmer expressions.

Then the suited man smiled and Danny wished he had a gun.

"Dad?" Danny felt soft but firm hands land on his cheeks as his face was pulled towards his daughter.

"I want to be an Idol."

Danny blinked. Is that what they call it nowadays?

"You want to be a graven image of worship?" Danny felt his grip on sanity slip away as he considered the surreal vision before him.

Instead of frustration, Taylor giggled, her light voice reminding him of the jingle of bells.

"Now you're just being cheeky, Dad. I want to become an idol. You know, sing, dance, do endorsements and variety shows? That sort of thing."

Danny now wished his daughter was more normal. Like, she can get involved with a gang, trigger with some grisly superpowers or deal drugs. Instead, she is lured into the sleazy world of entertainment. But before he can speak, he heard the deep baritone of the suited man address him.

"Mr Hebert. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Producer." Danny turned to glare at the man who is attempting and apparently succeeded in luring his daughter in. Danny felt his fists tightened and a scowl began to form on his face before he felt a warm breeze on his cheek and saw from his peripheral vision Taylor had blown onto his face while wearing an impish grin that showed an impressively polished set of teeth that were perfectly set.

"Still feeling angry?"

Danny gaped at the cheeky display by his recently withdrawn daughter and turned to the suited parahuman with murder in his eyes. The older Hebert shrugged himself free before he grabbed Producer by the collar and glared into his face.

"Undo whatever it is you did to Taylor. And take your shopping with you went you leave." Danny growled out.

" _Dad_!" The sharp shriek from his child caused Danny to wince. He turned back to his daughter, who stared at him with watery eyes, hurt and disappointment visible on his face. Danny hardened his heart and turned back to the suited cape. Even he knew that Mastered people were plenty irrational and the emotional manipulation was clear to see.

"I've triggered Dad. Before I even met Producer. I think it was during the locker."

Just one statement to calm the beast, as Danny felt ice water douse the raging flame in his heart. The older Hebert turned to look at his daughter, her makeup thinning where the tears ran down.

"You know what my power was Dad? Bugs. I can control bugs! What kind of creeptastic power is that? I even felt my mind start going screwy dealing with this." Taylor walked towards her father, her heels clicking as she strode towards him.

"I wanted this, Dad. Producer told me he could help me show the world my talent. I think I found something I want to do now."

"Mr Hebert." The suited parahuman felt the grip on his collar tightened as he spoke to the father of his latest talent. But familial support is always crucial for most stable Idols and should be sought where possible.

"Your daughter is extremely talented and I feel she can make the world a better place than we found it."

"Through pop music?" Danny snorted even as he let go of Producer. The suited cape straightened his tie and thought of giving another smile, before wisely deciding against it.

"Never underestimate the power of music, Mr Hebert. Sung from the heart, it transcends mere words spoken. And your daughter has plenty of heart, I assure you."

Producer nodded to idol, as Taylor wiped her tears and pulled out her mic.

"Guess you're the audience for my first Live, Dad. Please listen to thisBeginner'ssong."

Danny did not know where the bass or the synthesizers came from, or how the living room of his house was suddenly flooded with strobe lights and smoke.

Danny didn't really care.

He was too busy witnessing the birth of an Idol's first step.

/x/

Shadow Stalker undid her immaterial form as she landed in a backyard of a house bordering Lord Street. The toned Ward patted her costume to ensure it was still her original black bodysuit, woman's scowling mask and cowl before she allowed the instinct to guide her.

Ever since that fat fuck had mastered her, there was this niggling notion at the back of her head that caused her much grief. For one thing- making the life of that jailbait Vista miserable. She who ran around in that green suit with the breastplate and green helmet and visor because doing so was apparently wrong. Just because she's so goddam adorable and makes you wanna squeeze her and hug her and take her home to...

Okay. Okay. Kill Producer and everything will be hunky dory. No more posing in full costume while Phantom of the Fucking Opera plays and she practices her vocals to it.

After all, you don't strain your voice to music all the time. Basic knowledge is that you practice just making the sounds and...Damn it!

"Okay, Sophia. You can do it. You can kill the everloving fuck out of dough boy Chambers without Chewing Knees again. Whatever the fuck that means."

Still, this Master effect at least know how to chose soundtracks. Since she actually kind of liked this score Ride of the Valkyries rock!  
The teen was about to embark on her quest for bloody revenge, before she paused and took out a mirror to check her costume. A hero must always look her best when avenging after all!


	5. Live 3 Act 2

**I Wanna Be An Idol!**

Live 3-Act 2

 **A/N Special thanks to kamenhero25 from Sufficient Velocity and Mashadarof402 of Space Battles for acting as a Beta. Also thanks to Frakir's Brother also from Sufficient Velocity for offering.**

 **And of course, all the readers for their commentary and participation. This little dream of mine would never have gotten so far without all of you.**

 **Okay, enough with the mushy stuff. Time for fun!**

/x/

As the music died down and the lights returned to normal, Taylor gave a bow as her father clapped frantically, his face a picture of frenzied joy.

"Glad you liked it Dad." Taylor gave a wide smile to her audience of one even as she picked nervously at her skirt. Her new found instincts told her to not show hesitation when performing. It was advice that Taylor felt was very prudent, considering how nerve-wracking it was to sing for an audience, even one as friendly as her father. Danny tried to speak, but could not muster more than a hoarse gasp from his overworked vocal chords. Taylor was afraid he'd have brought down the house or annoy the neighbours with his wild cheering. Giving another bright smile to her audience, Taylor then turned to face Producer and felt her heart sink.

There was a ghost of a smile on his lips, but Taylor could tell the lack of enthusiasm easily from the frown visible on the older cape's face. Producer's eyes met hers and she felt a shiver as he tried to force a gentle grin onto his stony features. Thankfully, Producer soon resumed his usual stony countenance, allowing his idol to skip the building panic attack.

"It was an excellent performance for a first Live, Miss Hebert. No doubt you will improve further with more training and practice."

The teen idol felt the body blow of damning by faint praise acutely, the sting of her failing to meet the standards of Producer felt like a punch to her gut. Still, no one ever said idol life was easy and Taylor had prepared herself for this, powers of pop stardom or not. The young idol dismissed the swarm of fireflies and wasps she had summoned to provide superior acoustics and special effects for her performance. Their buzzing wings were perfect for creating a better experience for the audience. Producer than turned to face the now voiceless Danny, who still looked unsure.

"Sir, with your permission I believe I can make your daughter a star that will bring joy to everyone." Producer took Danny's hand in a firm grip. "If you will allow it, of course. She is still your child."

Danny stared at Producer for a while more, before nodding his assent. Taylor yelled in joy and bowled over Danny with a running hug, kissed him on the cheek before she turned back to Producer, her face flushed with joy.

"Practice begins very soon, Miss Hebert. Please refer to the smartphone I've provided you and await for updates."

Taylor frowned before she stomped over to Producer, her heels click clacking as it dug into the wood below the carpet.

"Taylor."

Producer blinked at the harshness of the tone used by his idol.

"Excuse me?"

"Tay-lor." The new idol emphasized with a jab of her finger to Producer's chest. "I'm the idol you've recruited and I don't want you referring me by my last name." The teen waved a finger in the face of the older cape to preempt any protests, the other hand firmly on her hips as she pressed forward with a pouting face, causing Producer to bend backwards at his charge's advance.

"No ifs and buts!" Taylor declared with a huff, even if she felt Producer is simply _adorable_ when he's flustered.

"Taylor then." The teen felt her cheeks flush as Producer smiled a smile that was more natural and subdued.

"I have to go soon. I have my eye on another potential recruit and I have reason to believe she is now available." Producer gathered up the bags scattered around the couch, going through their contents before handing them over to the Heberts.

"Mr Hebert. You may want to inventory the items I've procured for your daughter. They include a new wardrobe of clothes, make up and accessories." Danny turned a critical gaze to the bags given to him, but remained stoic. "While her powers do provide a basic costume during a performance, she'll need to get used to dressing more…presentably if she's is to carry them naturally."

"Basic costume?" Taylor gushed at the news. "You mean there's more than just the one I'm currently wearing?"

"Of course." Producer nodded before he turned his gaze out of the window.

"We will discuss more about them next time we meet. Till then, farewell." With that, the suited cape briskly strode out of the room and disappeared from view.

Smiling broadly, Danny turned to his daughter and rasped out, "We are going to need a second room for your new wardrobe."

"If this goes on, I won't be surprised if we need a second _house_!" Taylor teased with a grin before it transformed into a confused frown. The idol felt her feet tapping along as her ears perked up at the sound of music.

"Were you playing opera Dad? Because I'm hearing Ride of the Valkyries."

Before the elder Hebert could respond, a dark cloud phased through the walls of the house before solidifying into a young teenage black female. Taylor cast an appreciative gaze on the newcomer as she went through her costume. Black and wavy shoulder length hair with a purple butterfly hairpin that glittered in the light, her face streaked with painted stars on the cheeks and full lips with light pink lipstick. A crimson cape, frilly orange shirt with gold brass buttons, shimmering red skirt and a pair of deep purple knee length boots made the new entry an eye catching figure that commanded attention from the room. The young idol also admired the way her black counterpart threw her cape open with a single flourish, looking absolutely dashing. Oh, were those glowing purple batwings made of light on her back? Still, no mask anywhere. So either New Wave's got a new recruit with a flamboyant fashion sense, or Producer's scouted some talent before her.

"Producer!" The new idol bellowed with a voice that caused the room to quake. "From the depths of hell I spit at thee! Through the blackness of my heart I stab at thee!" The caped idol pulled out a bright purple crossbow, bejewelled with sparkling crystals across the frame. The glowing bat wings flared, casting their light over the living room of the Heberts while glowing feathers fell from the roof.

"I am Shadow Stalker and you've made my life a living hell!" The feathers burst into fireworks. "Now, prepare to die!"

Shadow Stalker bowed deeply at the sound of applause before catching herself. She felt very proud of herself despite her burning cheeks for resisting the urge to dig a hole to die of embarrassment.

"That's a wonderful entrance!" Shadow stalker looked at the brightly dressed girl who gushed at her with suspicion, "But should you be using the name of a Ward for your stage name? Not that I care for that particular Ward though. Dark and brooding is so late nineties."

"Hey! Not that I care but I will have you know I've got plenty of fans on PHO!" The brightly dressed teen blinked at Shadow Stalker in surprise, before she pulled out a mirror and showed it to the Ward.

The dark idol saw her mask-less costume, paused for a beat before she _screamed_.

"I'm going to kill that fat fuck! Then I will toss his guts into the mosh pit like chum to lure sharks! I will gut him, dice him, and mix him into a stew!"

"And you!" Shadow Stalker whirled to her fellow idol. "Bimbo with the necktie and mic. Did the Producer Master you, or did you always have a breeze blowing between your ears."

"Hey! Rude much?" Taylor huffed at the abrasiveness of her fellow idol. "Just because Producer chose you as my backup doesn't mean you have to be a bitch about it."

" _Backup_?! I don't have to take lip from you!" The dark idol glared at her counterpart. "Got a name, or do I go with Mic Ditz?"

"Taylor."

Shadow Stalker felt her brain grind to a halt, before the gears slowly started cranking again as she looked at the new idol with narrowed eyes.

"As in Hebert?" Taylor started at the dangerous low growl from the dark idol, before her mind clicked. Still hesitant, the idol decided to venture a question.

"Do I know you?"

The dark idol sneered, causing Taylor to frown at the unearned hostility.

"Surely you haven't forgotten the _fun_ we have at school so often, Hebert? I'd be so _hurt_."

"Sophia Hess!" Taylor hissed out as her suspicions were confirmed. "Y _ou're_ Shadow Stalker? A hero?" Outside, swarms of wasps and spiders began gathering in the shadows.

"I didn't ask to be one, Hebert. Those boy scouts at the Protectorate caught me being a bit rough with the criminals they left to run free on the streets." Sophia shrugged. "But having a badge and logistics support does have their perks."

Taylor glared at the dark idol, fists clenched and her face locked into a scowl. Sophia gave a cold smirk and returned the stare.

"Now if you'll excuse me and you will, I have a certain Mastering Trump with a liking for young teens to turn into a porcupine."

As the idolised Ward turned to leave, she was found herself stopped dead in her tracks with a single challenge.

"Sing off." Taylor flashed her phone at Sophia who had turned back. "Or this goes online to PHO and joins your _other_ video in the playlist."

The dark idol paled as she saw her flashy introduction playing back to her. As Sophia suppressed her newfound instincts screaming to take up the challenge and reached for her bolts, but the sound of sirens made her pause.

"Guess the neighbours must have called the police after all the noise." Danny rasped out as he put down the receiver to the phone. "Sure you want to do this?"

"Fine." Sophia spat as her hands moved away from her bolts. "But I get to choose the venue for the Live."

"Sure." Taylor glared at her tormentor. "I will school you anywhere. Name it."

The dark idol bared her teeth.

"Winslow High auditorium."

/x/

A suited woman with long wavy hair kept watch over the armoured truck currently being loaded with a specially made metal box built to block out all forms of acoustics by a forklift. She tutted her tongue at the sheer paranoia on display before she touched the tip of her fedora and moved it to the right.

"Groove of Victory- Track Select. Beat It."

Cracking a satisfied smile as a cone of light surrounded her, she shook her head to the rhythm of the bass guitars and synthesizers and slid over to the gathering PRT prisoner escort.

/x/

Paige Mcabee sat in the darkness alone, with even her thoughts and the tune she'd usually hear in her head drowned out by the noise machine within the Tinkertech containment unit. The Rogue singer couldn't even gather her thoughts as the ever present whining that sounded like an unholy mix of whistling artillery shells and brakes played in the back of her head. She couldn't even sing due to the muzzle placed over her mouth, not allowing her to utter even a squeak much less hold a tune. Paige almost wanted to cry, for the music which had been her constant companion since her trigger left her.

Then Paige felt madness grip her, because she suddenly heard music in her head. The unmistakeable upbeat tunes of the Hammond organ mixed with the background of the electric bass guitar punctuated with the whammy bar abuse, spiced with the pulse of the drum and all set to the backdrop of the synthesizers. The blonde singer felt her head swaying to the music that felt like a blast from the golden age of Parahumans in the eighties, a time when things were happier and brighter.

" _Lucky really loved the music from that era_. " Paige thought fondly of her trainer who had guided her before and after she purchased her trigger. _"I wonder where she is now."_

The music got clearer, masking the whining pitch of the noise machine playing in her head as Paige felt her sanity slipping over the edge.

" _They told her, "Don't you ever come around here. Don't wanna hear your voice. You better disappear_."

Outside, she could hear the sounds of boots scrambling, orders screamed and guns firing mixed in with the music. Then she heard the blare of a truck's horn before the loud roar of metal crashing against metal startled the restrained Parahuman singer.

" _The hate in their voices and the fear in their eyes are very clear_."

The sound of flesh against flesh and more guns cracking. Paige squeezed her eyes shut as she remembered her ex mutilating himself on her word as she heard the steady tapping of booted feet outside her box.

" _So beat it! Just beat it_!"

Paige wanted the music to stop. It was bringing up too many things she'd rather leave buried.

" _You wanna be happy, better do what you can. So beat it. Just beat it_!"

"I can't!" Paige suddenly heard herself screaming. Paige saw the darkness of her shut eyes retreat just a bit followed by the hissing of air escaping before a fresh breeze blew against her cheeks. Paige's green eyes strained from the sudden burst of light as they cracked open to the sight of a familiar face.

"Ms Lucky?" A tall thin woman with pale skin, brown eyes and long wavy hair smiled at her while she tipped her white fedora. She reached into the ruby red jacket over a white t-shirt that clashed with her black skinny jeans, fishing out a bunch of keys and unlocked her cuffs.

"Go on. Let your voice be free, Paige."

Paige gingerly reached for the restraints on her mouth with her liberated hands and felt them fall apart as she gingerly touched it with her finger tips. The singer's voice quaked with emotion as Lucky began ruffling her blonde hair and feathers.

"Why?"

"The busting you from a prison transport, or the part about the singing?" Her saviour quipped as she pulled Paige from her seat in the box out into the sun. As her eyes adjusted to the solar glare, Paige stared dumbfounded at the sight of PRT troopers and police laid still on the floor, lined up in formation. The parahuman singer turned an accusing gaze at her old teacher.

"Not my fault the police and the PRT can't train people to match my footwork, Paige." Lucky gave a wink and shrug, much to Paige's chagrin. The singer heaved a sigh of relief as she noted the moving chests and groans from the prone lawmen. At the very least, her mentor wasn't a mass murderer. Paige followed her old teacher to a police cruiser, hoping to the front passenger's seat. No way is she ever going to seat in the back again.

"So where are we going, Lucky?"

Paige had braced herself for a life of crime considering she was now a wanted fugitive. As her old mentor handed her a bag, her eyes widened as she found a sequined sunflower coloured dress.

"My stage costume." Paige whispered.

Lucky touched the tip of her hat and shifted it to the right.

"Groove of Victory- Track Select. Born Wild"

Gloved hands laid on the wheel as the engine started. Paige leaned back towards the window as Lucky leaned towards her, a manic gleam in her eyes.

"Darling, we're gonna make it happen." The thumping drums and screaming guitar got the singer's heart racing as Lucky drawled out her answer.

"After we get some adjustments done on you, we're going to make you a star again."

/x/

Officer Joe looked into her rear view mirror at his cuffed passenger. For all his years inside the force, the veteran beat cop had never heard of a fugitive calling the police and asking for a ride. Much less specifying for "the cop who brained me with the baton."

"Hey." Dull eyes looked at him, causing him to feel a chill as he flinched. " _Guy's got the look of a serial killer_ ," thought the policeman. His rookie partner felt the same way, looking uneasy despite having some five inches of height and twenty pounds of muscle over their quarry.

"You a cape or something?"

The suited perp shrugged, causing the chains on his cuffs to jingle.

"I'm just a producer, ever on the look for more talent to bring joy to the world."

"Okay, so you're one of those crazy ones." Joe nodded as he turned his gaze back to the road. The veteran policeman began to radio back to HQ informing them they'd picked up a suspected parahuman and request PRT support, when the perp interrupted him.

"I've reached my stop. Thank you, Joe."

Joe wasn't sure what happened. One second the suited cape was secured with leg shackles on top of Brute rating handcuffs. The next second, he stood some twenty feet away on the other end of the road, walking towards the Boardwalk.

"Hey Joe." The rookie asked him, disbelief clear in his voice. "Did someone just use a police cruiser as a taxi service?"

Working as an unpowered cop in a cape heavy city like Brockton Bay, the veteran lawman had the perfect answer.

"Fucking capes."


	6. Live 3 Act 3

**I Wanna Be An Idol!**

 **Live 3-Act 3**

 **Rather than create a behemoth of a chapter, I felt it'd be better to break it into easier to digest chunks.**

 **Can't OD on the crack and the relatively more sober moments of this story.**

 **Special thanks to** xXxTeaChanxXx **for the reimagined English lyrics of Hello, Hoshiete O Kazoete.**

 **Next chapter will be the Sing-off, I hope.**

/ **x/** /

Taylor mumbled under her breath as she reached out beneath the bed covers for her phone, silencing the alarm set to a randomised pop ditty that roused her. The teen peeked out of her quilt as her eyes stared at the roof of her room using the moonlight flowing in from the window, while her mental connection to her swarm of spiders and flies alerted her to the presence of several early rising neighbours as they left their homes. Even now, she felt the skittering motions of her insects as they swung to the tunes that played inside her head. Who knew arachnids in particular loves J-Pop? Or that the common housefly buzzed lovingly to the sound of glam rock? Ignoring the ambient cold and thankful for central heating as she crawled out of bed, Taylor shivered as she rubbed her hands before throwing open her wardrobe, running an appreciative but apprehensive gaze over her newly acquired collection. The idol slapped her cheeks, thankful for the slight stinging sensation on her face as it jolted her out of her fugue at seeing so many pieces of glamourous clothing in a single wardrobe.

 _Her_ wardrobe to be precise. Taylor audibly sucked in a gasp of air, worried that she might just wake up as miserable as she was only a morning ago.

She picked a silver grey coloured tracksuit with white stripes running down the sides from the rack, she ran a finger down the front as she admired the smooth yet firm material that was miles apart from her old ratty suit that she had discarded as part of her old, withdrawn identity. All hints of sleepiness gone as the sound of her heart pounded in her ears, Taylor took the tracksuit and waltzed straight to her dresser's mirror. Her footsteps tapped out a steady rhythm as she danced to the song she had decided will accompany her for her first morning run since…

Taylor glared at her reflection, her eyes hard and face stern even as she admired how her hair remained relatively unruffled despite the fact she had just crawled out of bed. Then she practiced her smile, and felt surprised how _bright_ she looked. Taylor wasn't sure if it was due to the Producer's powers or her makeover, but the smile went to her eyes as the idol admired her new looks.

"Guess Producer wasn't kidding me when he said that salon is the best in all of the Bay." Taylor muttered under her breath. It was still hard to believe she would actually be paying so much attention to making herself look good, rather than her previous standards for looking presentable which began and ended at not looking like a homeless person and not attracting attention. Moving a few stray strands of hair from her face, Taylor placed the tracksuit over her jammies, smiling in satisfaction at how her running attire would complement her headband she would be putting on later. The idol psyched herself as she muttered her new mantra to drive her towards her goal.

"You can do it, Tay. Shine like a sun among the stars like a centre is supposed to."

Quickly getting dressed and followed by washing up inside the bathroom where she adjusted the ribbons on her drying hair, Taylor soon found her dad hard at work with the blender in the kitchen. The teen felt uneasy as the noise of the blender assailed her sense of hearing, fighting the rising urge to make a run for the door. Danny turned his gaze from the blender and the sickly green concoction that was forming inside, cracking a gentle grin to his child.

"Mornin' Taylor." The look on Danny's face made Taylor really apprehensive. "Breakfast will be done soon."

"I really hope you're not going to make me drink whatever is inside that blender, Dad." Taylor shuddered as she pulled out a chair. "It looks like green puke mixed with snot!"

"It's a shake I've made from the instructions Producer left for me." Danny said as he started to pour the mix into a glass before handing it to his daughter. Taylor looked at the shake suspiciously, sniffing it before taking a sip. Danny chuckled as the idol winced after the taste, ignoring the accusing glare from Taylor.

"Reminds me of the first time Annette and I made you eat your vegetables." Danny sighed wistfully. "Now go on, I checked the recipe online. A lot of dancers and singers swear by this."

"Oh I can see why they're swearing alright." Taylor grumbled as she downed the vile shake as quickly as she can while she suppressed her gag reflex. She was thankful at least there was a pleasant aftertaste of mint as she dashed for the kitchen sink to gargle.

"Going for a run?" Danny asked as he looked at the bright clothes his daughter was wearing. "Isn't that look a bit flashy? Brockton isn't the safest place to be."

"I'll be fine, Dad." Taylor assured her father as she pulled out a can of pepper spray from her tracksuit and laid it on the table. Danny's ears perked at the sound of angry buzzing and looked out of the kitchen window, starting at the sight of an angry cloud of bees.

"Besides, It's not like I'm helpless, Dad."

Rising from her feet, Taylor squeezed her father's shoulder before she made for the door. The idol stood on the porch, eyes gazing over the dim streets with only the lights from the neighbour's homes and the occasional functioning streetlight breaking the darkness. Taylor pulled the hood over her head, and began a slow jog towards her usual route.

/x/

" _Is this going to happen every time I go for a run_?" Taylor thought as she jogged along the sidewalks of Downtown. Once she was past the local community college, the idol's unease grew as she noticed a growing crowd of people trailing her as she ran. The music played in her head and when Taylor came to a stop, the crowd followed.

"Was it the humming?" Taylor muttered as she stopped again to look at the people trailing her. Mist drifted out of Taylor's mouth as she exhaled deeply, picking at the pants of her tracksuit.

"I guess it won't hurt?" Taylor hummed as the music in her head got louder, before she nodded and cracked a wide smile towards the crowd. "Just a little performance for the fans following me?"

Pointing at the dark sky, Taylor yelled out to the throng of followers.

"Good mornin' everyone! I'm so glad all of you decided to join me. Now, say Hello and Count the stars with me!"

Taylor frowned as she noticed the ominous cloud cover.

"I said, Hello and Count the stars with me!"

A strong breeze picked up and the idol's face regained her smile as the stars peeked out from the retreating clouds.

" _Hello! Can you hear the music call_?"

The idol skipped among the crowd as they split apart and formed a corridor between them. Taylor grabbed a pipe from a bald teen in red and white colours and took a white top hat from a man wearing a full red mask and grey tuxedo.

 _"This whole town is lit up like a shining carnival!_ "

Taylor leapt onto a van parked on the roadside, her legs tapping to the beat of the bass and synths while the crowd surrounded her and raised their hands to the sky and swayed to her movements.

" _Hello, this is my answer to you_."

Fireflies swarmed the air, accompanied by the buzzing of bees that reflected the light from the fireflies through their brightly coloured bodies.

" _Everything will be fine, when we pick up and say Hello_."

Taylor spun the pipe like a cane as butterflies fluttered around it, gave a tip of the hat to a security camera in front of an office building before sliding along the floor towards a traffic intersection.

" _When the intersection starts dancing, why not we join in_?"

Sophia burst out of the crowd and shuffled to the right of a Taylor who spun around a streetlight, the dark idol dressed in the same costume from last night.

" _We feel so free here, right in this metropolis_."

Glory Girl, long blonde hair flowing free and dressed in a blue and white costume with a shiny tiara landed from the sky with a thump between the singing duo before she spread her arms to face the gathered crowd and joined in.

" _It makes me feel like we should never leave_!"

The blonde heroine then hugged the two singing idols, lifting off into the air before landing on the roof of a three storey tall building. Half of the crowd stood in a daze, while the rest dashed towards the new location.

"Glory Girl, Sophia! Take it away!" Taylor yelled out.

" _Feel the energy of those in the crowd_

 _I'm getting swallowed up that's for sure_

 _The mystery melody with words I don't know_

 _Mysterious power that's growing stronger bit by bit!"_

The bees swarmed into the glowing feathers and fireflies and transformed into a dazzling galaxy of stars, which swept towards and blanketed the growing, cheering crowd.

"All together now!" All three parahuman girls chorused.

" _Hello! We're counting the stars right above!_

 _If only we can tell the next time we will meet._

 _Hello, everything's unpredictable!_

 _But if we're together, surely we will enjoy it all! Hello!"_

The trio stepped to the edge of the building and leapt off, trailed by the stars before Glory Girl stopped their descent, hovering just inches from the concrete sidewalk. Taylor then walked towards the gathered audience, with Glory Girl and Sophia flanking her.

" _What happens now at the end of this show? Oh I know, everyone visit our show!"_

Sophia stepped forward and grabbed Taylor's free hand, exchanging knowing glances before giving bright smiles to the audience.

" _Come visit at our show!"_

As the applause and cheering started to die down, Sophia and Taylor exchanged wide grins and thumbs up. Then the smile on the dark idol's face stiffened before she spun away from the other idol.

"Aww, are you blushing?" Glory Girl giggled as she peered at the burning face of Sophia. "How adorable!"

"Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up shut up!"

Taylor watched as the blonde heroine doubled over in laughter at the sight of her tormentor fleeing the scene, before she heard a rough voice calling for her.

"Excuse me."

" _Awfully polite for such a threatening voice_." The idol thought as she turned around to see the bald man in black and red looking at her with a dirty crumpled notepad in one hand and an open palm on the other.

"Your autograph and my pipe please." The bald man's face was carefully neutral as his voice rumbled. "That was a lovely song by the way, if a bit degenerate."

"Umm, thanks?" Taylor replied slowly even as she kept her expression cheerful while she signed with the pen clipped onto the note pad and returned the pipe. "What was the pipe for anyway?"

"I was planning to rob you and maybe beat you for being a dirty Jew." Taylor froze as the man took back the notepad. "Thanks for the autograph."

"Visit our show!" Taylor called out to the retreating back of the Empire member who almost engaged in a hate crime. The idol made sure the bald man was out of earshot before she shuddered in revulsion. "Or maybe not."

"Hey!" Taylor fell forward as she felt a slap on her back, before she felt a hand grabbed her tracksuit to stabilise her.

"Sorry about that. But it's the most fun I've ever had in my entire life!" Taylor's chest felt warm at the presence of the cheerful blonde cape. "But swiping Trickster's hat and making him stomp off in daze? Now that takes skill!"

Taylor's face paled at Glory Girl's news.

"I took the hat of a cape?"

"Yep! And a pretty nasty one based on what I know. Last heard his group was operating elsewhere in the country though." Glory Girl then grasped the right arm of Taylor firmly. "Well, time to go then."

At Taylor's confused stare, the blonde heroine gave a calming smile.

"Just a short trip to the PRT HQ. I mean, you didn't do anything harmful, but you did kinda Master a whole group of people to join in a sing along." Glory Girl patted the idol on the shoulder to reassure her. "Don't worry. Just give a statement and maybe register. Nothing else, I promise."

"I…guess." Taylor nodded carefully. The idol looked at her tracksuit, wrinkled her nose as she took a sniff of her sweaty arm and fished out a mirror and shuddered when she saw her reflection.

"Can I at least get a shower and change of clothes?" Taylor said as she adjusted her newly acquired hat. "Somehow I don't think I will be alone when we visit the PRT building."

/x/

Brian Laborn considered himself reasonably patient, if only that was needed to keep a group like the Undersiders somewhat in line. But there were days when he found himself really hoping he had just murdered his father and took Aisha away from Brockton Bay, to hell with the custody battle. This was one of those days, where Bitch's dogs were all amped up and chased a suited man with long dark hair around the Trainyard. Resisting the urge to rub the bridge of his nose in frustration, the leader of the Undersiders went straight for the two likely sources of this mayhem. Said sources watched with glee at the unfolding chaos from a lawn chair while holding their phones to record it for posterity.

"Tats, this Dog's Out challenge is the funniest shit you've come up with in a long time. Bra-fucking-vo." Tattletale turned towards her fellow villain Regent, her deep purple body suit with stylised eyes and domino mask the portrait of simplicity in stark contrast to Regent's flashy Renaissance jester costume. Tattletale allowed herself a smug grin as she brushed her blonde hair.

"What can I say? I almost doubted my power when it said that the suited creep will actually do it even with all the information given to him." Tattletale shrugged as she shared another laugh as Angelica barely missed snapping off the head of the suited man. "Ooh, one of the dogs got him by the leg! It's over!"

Brian followed the blonde Thinker's gaze and saw the other two amped dogs converge on their prey. Brian cursed under his breath at the effort and cost it will take to clean up and cover up this mess, before he noticed the dogs had raised their heads and sniffed the air in confusion. Instead of the bloody carcass that he expected, Brian found an empty space at where the suit had been pinned down only seconds ago. Bitch glared at her dogs, before she whistled for them to return to her. As the canine trio trudged back to their mistress, Brian's eyebrows arched when he saw the suited man clamber out of a rusty train car. Bitch's dogs quickly reoriented themselves towards the reappearance of their quarry and were only less than six feet away when the suit pulled out a whistle and began to blow.

Bitch began to twitch as the dogs came to a sudden stop. Whistle in mouth, the suit walked up to Angelica, slowly reaching out with his free hand. The mutated dog quickly snapped at the hand which withdrew, but there was no follow up aggression. All of the Undersiders looked intently as the suited man attempted once more to touch Angelica, and Brian heard a choked sound from Bitch when the mutated dog stopped trying to bite off the hand that was patting her side.

"Well, Tats. Congrats on finding a new career." Regent quipped while Tattletale jumped off her lawn chair before she found herself intercepted by the remaining two dogs and Bitch.

"Angelica likes him, Tattletale." The bulky villainess snarled along with her two dogs. "You will keep your promise and sign on with him."

"As a pop idol." Tattletale said flatly even as her eyes darted around for an escape route. "Like the singing in flashy, skimpy costumes belting out brainless manufactured bubble gum pop. Idol."

"Angelica likes him." Bitch growled along with her two dogs. Brian watched as Angelica started wagging her tail at the suited cape, who patted the dog on the nose before he approached the blonde villainess with a card in hand.

Brian shrugged as Tattletale whimpered in his direction, ignoring the blonde villainess as he walked towards the abandoned conductor's office where their pantry was set up. As the cape helped himself to a beer inside the fridge, he heard a loud popping sound and rushed out of the office just in time to see a cocoon of light engulf Tattletale.

Idolise!

"I wonder if I can get Aisha to work backstage at Lisa's performances." Brian thought as he admired the new idol's costume.


	7. Live 3 Act 4

**I Wanna Be An Idol!**

Live 3-Act 4

 **/x/**

Danny Hebert had seen many things in his life, though his daughter dropping a bombshell that she had triggered close to a month ago after that horrible incident _then_ telling him that she's set her mind on pop stardom had stretched the limits of his appetite for weirdness.

"But I suppose I can stretch it just a bit more." Danny muttered under his breath as he watched from his car, keys in hand as Glory Girl descended from the sky with his daughter in a bridal carry. The elder Hebert comforted himself that it was not the police or the PRT that arrived with grim news of his daughter, having suffered some terrible fate. So he greeted the new arrivals with a wide smile.

"Hi Dad. Just to let you know before you find out from the media or online, but I kinda mastered a crowd of people into watching my impromptu Live when I went on my run from here to Downtown." Danny's smile stiffened as his daughter continued sheepishly. "So, Glory Girl here is going to bring me to the PRT HQ to register so I can be legit."

Danny's face relaxed just a bit. On one hand, his daughter mastered someone. On the other, she's brought home with no restraints on her and visibly relaxed. But Danny decided to make sure and ventured a question.

"You're not under arrest I hope?" Danny asked carefully even as he started thinking of notable lawyers for parahuman related crimes.

"Nope." Taylor said readily, prompting a sigh of relief from her father. Glory Girl then stepped forward and waved in greeting before she grabbed Danny's hand and shook it vigorously.

"You must be her dad." The blonde heroine smiled brightly as she introduced herself. "I'm Glory Girl. I mean you probably already know who I am, but I always believe in introducing myself to people I've never met before."

"A pleasure, Miss." Danny nodded as the bubbly heroine before he turned towards his daughter. Taylor was still wearing that smile he saw her practicing the night before, when he walked pass the bathroom and she left the door ajar. But the creases on the side of her eyes raised concern for the Hebert patriarch, who gently took the hand of his daughter. The slight shaking in his daughter's hands further accentuated his worries, but Danny kept a poker face as he waved towards the house.

"Glory Girl. Please make yourself at home." Danny walked with his daughter into the house, with Glory Girl following close behind. The blonde heroine's eyes lit up as she spotted the brightly coloured bags still laid on the living room and went straight for the largest of them, before she helped herself to a rainbow silk scarf and dashed into a bathroom. The Heberts winced at the cape's spontaneity, but kept their peace.

"Wow! This scarf looks wicked cool!" Glory Girl's head stuck out of the door as she spoke, the scarf hanging off her neck. Taylor gave a strained smile and shrugged.

"Help yourself to it, Glory Girl." Danny's eyebrows rose at his daughter's unusual generosity. "It doesn't fit my look anyway."

"Ohmygod really? Thanks!" The idol choked as Glory Girl grabbed her in a tight embrace, before the blonde heroine noticed and let go. "Shit, girl. You alright?"

"I'm fine, Glory Girl." Taylor wheezed out after she caught her breath from the cape's enthusiastic hug. The blonde cape frowned as she rolled up Taylor's sleeve and gasped as she saw the bruises that had formed on her upper arm.

"I'm so sorry." The blonde pled as she rolled up the other skin, the frown on her face grew more pronounced as she noticed the same injuries on the other hand. Glory Girl fished out a phone and began to dial, her eyes still fixed on the idol.

"Let me make this up to you, umm." Taylor blinked at the blonde cape's sudden hesitation, before she caught on. The idol decided it was as good a time as any to reveal her stage name.

"Call me Spotlight." Glory Girl beamed and flashed a thumb up in response, before her face reverted to a mask of worry as she began to speak.

"Hey Ames? Yeah I will be needing you to help me fix up someone." A muffled voice came from the other end, prompting Glory Girl to roll her eyes.

"Baby sisters." Glory Girl stage whispered to the idol, before she went back to her phone. "It's only the third time this week. And this time I _only_ bruised someone by mistake!"

Another round of muffled voices, before the line went dead. Glory Girl frowned at the phone like it had insulted her, before she put it away and faced Taylor.

"I will be picking up Panacea, so you stay here okay?" The Heberts watched as the cape then stepped out of their home, a dull boom from outside their home informed them that Glory Girl had left. Danny sighed in relief and turned towards his daughter, then frowned as he peered at Taylor's face. The intensity of the stare caused Taylor to laugh nervously.

"What's the matter, Dad?"

"You look different, kid." Danny said as he continued to stare. "Like a filter over your face was removed. I recognised you since you identified yourself, but otherwise my mind was having trouble connecting your looks to your identity just now."

"A Stranger power, then." Taylor said as the pieces of the puzzle came together. "So that means if the music in my head stops playing, the Stranger effect wears off."

"Wait, hold up." Danny looked at Taylor with concern. "You have music playing in your head?"

"Only sometimes." The idol paused before she continued. "Scratch that. More like most of the time I have it playing in my head. Just that it becomes so soft sometimes you barely notice it unless you go hunting for it. I feel and think differently when the music is softer."

"So that explains your shaking since Glory Girl brought you home." Danny shook his head sadly at his daughter's surprised look. "You think I won't notice something like that?"

" _You certainly didn't notice a lot of things before_." Taylor thought as she recalled how things gone south when her friendship with Emma broke down.

" _If Ms Jabroski hadn't rescued me…"_ the idol shook her head to clear her thoughts, before she looked her father in the eye.

"I know I wanted to do this." Taylor picked at her new clothes as she spoke, "But the effect is so potent, so _there_. I sometimes wonder how much of it is the power and how much of it is me."

Both Heberts stared at each other in silence, before Danny broke the silence.

"You want out of this?"

"No." Taylor said firmly. "It's maybe hard to believe, but being approached by Producer and becoming an Idol is something I still want to do. The head music and the fact I Mastered people unknowingly _is unsettling_ , but I'm not giving it up."

"Then I'll support you." Danny said as his daughter broke into a smile again. "I suppose you'd want a change of clothes and…"

"A shower, yes." Taylor cut in. A beep from her phone prompted the idol to fish it out and fumble with it before she read the message and saw the linked video from Producer.

"I will also need to apply some makeup." Taylor said flatly even as she felt her pulse racing when she saw her recorded Live with Sophia and Glory Girl racking up the views. "The media's going to _pounce!"_

/ **x/**

Director Piggot paused the stream, turned off the screen and swivelled her chair to face the grey sky her office window was facing. Steel blue eyes regained some vitality after a few minutes of staring at the grey clouds, before the head of the Brockton Bay PRT gathered enough courage to view the video again.

"Someone please tell me this is a bad dream." The director muttered darkly as she saw the concert, or Live as the documents in Producer's suitcase calls them. The only upside to this whole thing was that the audience didn't seem to connect the unmasked Shadow Stalker to her civilian ID, going by the comments on the video that Dragon had traced to classmates of Sophia Hess and their interviews with several of the audience if they matched Stalker's civilian ID to the people performing on stage.

"It's not a bad dream, sorry Director." Piggot shot a glare at Assault, fully recovered from the effects of being Mastered by Shadow Stalker and every bit a smartass going by the remark he made. Miss Militia coughed into her hand, drawing the attention of Piggot away from the annoying former villain.

"Director. As you can see from the video and our gathered intel, the Idols created by Producer are a grab bag of Masters, Strangers and Breakers. They also are able to retain their old powers from their previous trigger." Piggot watched as the scarfed cape that used the American flag as a mask looked pointedly away from her, focusing on the report.

"You're finding this very funny, aren't you Miss Militia."

"Absolutely not, Ma'am." The scarfed heroine lied as the mirth in her eyes betrayed her when she raised her head to face Piggot. "I do not find the concept of pop music as a parahuman power hilarious. Not at all."

"You don't lie so good." The director said as she pored over the report that was handed over by the cape. A beep from her phone and Piggot scowled as she saw the message sent.

"I can't believe this!" Piggot huffed as she slid the phone over to Miss Militia. The cape's eyebrows rose as she read over the short message from Chief Director Costa-Brown.

"Regards to the issue of Glenn Chambers- Head of the PRT Public Relations triggering." The scarfed heroine read out. "Issue of Chambers escaping from M/S cells to be set aside. All PRT branches to _set up supporting offices for the Pro Talent Agency_?"

"I can't believe it myself," The director growled while she stared at the cape. "I'm _having words_ with them over this, believe me."

"I'm sure you will, Director." Miss Militia shuffled her feet uneasily under Piggot's glare. "But is there a reason you're looking me over from head to toe?"

"Nothing much." Piggot said as she bared her teeth, which caused both capes present to flinch. "Just wondering how you'd look in an idol costume."

/ **x/** /

Spotlight tried to sneak a peek at Panacea, but found she was rebuffed every time by an icy glare from the healer cape. Still, from her peripheral vision the idol was able to make out the features of Brockton Bay's most valued parahuman. Dressed in white robes adorned with red crosses over pants and t-shirt, the cape hid her head under a hood.

"Ames, stop being grumpy!" Glory Girl shouted above the wind's roar from between the healer and the idol. Spotlight gave a grateful smile to the blonde as they flew towards PRT HQ, even as she rehearsed what to say to the media that waited for her. Deciding that conversation might make her less nervous, the idol decided to venture another attempt to speak to the healer cape again.

"So Panacea? You like any music? Movies?"

"Nothing you sing anyway." The healer said acidly. "I'm allergic to pop music full of feel good nonsense because it rots the ear drums and the brain like candy on the teeth."

"Ames!" Spotlight patted the shoulder of a fuming Glory Girl even as her practiced smile grew progressively strained at the healer's needling.

" _What's wrong with her_?" The idol thought even as she kept her cheerful mask on. " _The things I've read and heard about her certainly didn't tell me she could be such a petty shithead_."

Spotlight kept silent for the rest of the journey and heaved a sigh of relief as Glory Girl touched down. The idol gulped as she saw the media scrum gathered at the main entrance into the PRT building, held back by velvet rope and a line of blue clad PRT troopers. Glad that her sunglasses both dulled the flash of the cameras and hid her nervousness, Taylor began walking towards the media pack when Producer and a new blonde Idol strode out of the entrance.

Glory Girl waved towards Producer and the newcomer before she turned towards Spotlight. The young idol blushed slightly at the blonde cape's infectious smile as they held hands, while Panacea scowled in the background.

"Well, Spotlight. Guess it's goodbye for now." Glory Girl said. "Call me if the Protectorate gives you trouble okay?"

"Thanks, Glory Girl. I really…" The idol paused mid-sentence as the blonde cape held up a finger to shush her.

"Vicki. My friends call me that."

" _Oh God! I'm friends with Glory Girl! Yes_!" Taylor screamed internally even as she kept her cool expression.

"Sure, Vicki. Thanks!"

The suited cape approached Spotlight as she exchanged farewells with the New Wave youth before Glory Girl left the scene with Panacea in tow. The blonde's heavily made up face was a scowling mask which caused her freckles to scrunch up, while Producer remained as stoic as he usually is. Spotlight alternated her gaze between the teeming horde of media, the PRT troopers holding them back and Producer.

"Producer, aren't you wanted by the police and the PRT?"

"I was." Producer said as he adjusted Spotlight's sunglasses and straightened her tie.

"But I was informed that the PRT has decided not to pursue the issue of me slipping out from the M/S cells and they found no lasting harmful effects" The blonde idol coughed into her hands. "To the Idolising of my charges."

"And the problem with the police hunting you down every time you approach another prospect?"

Producer shrugged at Spotlight's query.

"Occupational hazard for us production types."

Somewhere in the US Eastern seaboard, Ms Lucky sneezed. Paige passed a tissue to her mentor even as she looked nervously at the approaching police cars.

"So," Producer looked at his latest idol. "You chose Spotlight for a stage name?"

"Yeah. I thought of Cicada, but I figured loud insect wasn't the type of imagery that'd win me double platinum awards."

"Yeah, loud bug isn't the kind of name you'd want people to know you by." Spotlight turned to the newest addition to her team and looked over the purple dress and, red leggings and boots and the hair accessories that glimmered with a faint glow she was wearing.

"She's so pretty." Spotlight thought as the blonde idol grinned and extended her hand.

"Nice meeting ya, Spotlight." The brunette idol felt uneasy at the blonde's smile. "Name's Illusion. I wanted Banter, but Producer wanted us to have a theme."

"Well, time's running short girls." Producer said as he looked at his watch. The suited cape placed a hand on their shoulders.

"Let's go meet the media and the PRT."

 **/X** /

Emma threw open her covers as the sound of loud tapping on her doors woke her up from a pleasant dream involving her bitch of a homeroom teacher Mika Jabroski being humiliated and then fired for interfering with her plans.

"Emma, open up." The sound of her elder sister Anne's voice annoyed her to no end, but she grudgingly trudged towards her door.

"Sophia's here to see you."

Suddenly wide-awake at the sudden appearance of her friend early on a Saturday morning, Emma hurriedly straightened her hair before she opened the door and beamed at her Ward friend. Confusion then slipped into her smile when the part time model saw how stylish Sophia looked.

"Hi." Sophia growled as Anne went downstairs. Without waiting for an answer, the Ward pushed pass Emma and sat at the foot of the bed. Emma stared dumbfounded at her friend's new sense of chic. Coloured stockings matched with a deep purple skirt, dark grey jacket over a red cotton blouse. The redhead couldn't help but whistle in appreciation, prompting a glare from her friend.

"So, Soph?" Emma grinned as she looked over the Ward. "Here to show off your new sense of fashion."

"I'm dressed like this because I got Mastered." Sophia spat out, which caused Emma's smile to fade. "Also, look at the video link I've sent to your phone."

Emma felt her worldview collapse as she saw the video playing. Sophia and Glory Girl was easy enough for her to recoginse, once the Stranger effect broke when the Ward pointed out she was the black girl in the trio. But the girl in the centre though?

"The centre," Sophia bristled at Emma's words, "She looks very familiar."

"That's because she's your former bestie."

Emma stared hard at the video again, as her mind started to link the name to the face.

"How? Taylor? But you're up there with…? Glory Girl! _Fucking Glory Girl_ joined in!"

Sophia shrugged as she started to hum along to the video.

"Idol Bullshit. Maybe I will find an explanation after I corner that fat pervert Producer and stick him like a pig?"

The redhead breathed deeply before she turned off the video stream and slid under her bed to retrieve a bunch of keys.

"Make yourself at home, Soph." Emma said tightly as she went out of the room. The redhead ignored the greetings from her parents as she dashed down to the basement and unlocked a storage cabinet built into the floor. Emma coughed as clouds of dust billowed out when she pulled open the doors, but the redhead pushed ahead, pushing aside piles of junk before she pulled out a thin book with a red velvet hardcover. Using the light from her phone, Emma looked over the lyrics and dance steps written within, her eyes burning with envy.

"Well Tay." Emma muttered to herself. "I guess you weren't being completely delusional when you said your mother's song book had something special."

 **/X/**

 **A/N So this chapter's a bit dry, since there's a bit more focus on the aftermath of Taylor's Live. On the bright side, this story's planning is now more focused and I am visualizing the endgame already. So yeah! All the Way to World Idol Domination!**

 **Also, I finally settled on a theme for the Idols. Comments on it are most welcome.**

 **Next up will be a flashback. Both during Taylor's trigger, her future trainer and her Mom.**


	8. Backstage

**I Wanna Be An Idol!**

Backstage 1

 **/x/**

(November, 2010, Winslow High School)  
Sophia glared at the redheaded female that was walking a few paces in front of her as she followed her to the detention room. The Ward fingered the dart she had hidden in her jean's back pocket, but decided against it. The redhead who was fashionably dressed in a dark brown sweater, heeled boots and white pants walked in front of her with a spring in her steps like she was dancing. She looked back at Sophia with a ghost of a smile resting on her face, her fiery hair with streaks of pink twirling in the crisp November air.

"So, Sophia. How does it feel to be singled out for a one to one session with your homeroom teacher right after the Thanksgiving break?"

The Ward rolled her eyes at the light tone adopted by the educator, but carefully noted the sharp glare the older woman fixed on her.

" _Eyes of a predator._ " Sophia thought with carefully hidden approval. " _Even if her power is totally lame."_

Sophia's cheeks burnt at the reminder that she was brought in by the same cape that had collared her back in the end of September when she messed up and the Protectorate found the excuse to bring her in. Getting cornered and then beaten black and blue by glowing musical notes set to a synth-pop background wasn't the kind of end to her solo indie career she had envisioned.

"Come in."

Sophia dragged her feet into the empty classroom as she heard the click of the classroom doors. The Ward glared at the back of the senior Protectorate cape who was also her homeroom teacher and scowled as she sat down on a chair facing the teacher.

"Just your luck the Protectorate is experimenting with undercover capes when I got loaned here from New York, isn't it?"

Sophia returned a glare to the cheerful smile from her homeroom teacher.

"What do you want, _Butahime_?"

The teacher blinked at the insult hurled at her, before she laughed lightly. Sophia noted despite herself the redhead had a very melodic voice.

"I see Clockblocker's nickname for me after I demolished four servings of pasta in the cafeteria caught on." Sophia stiffened as the smile on the teacher's lips faded away. "But really, Shadow Stalker. Utahime isn't that difficult a name to pronounce."

The older cape reached for a cream coloured folder, nodding as she read it's contents. She handed the file over to the younger cape, before she placed it on the desk with a shrug as Sophia's arms remained resolutely folded. Utahime's cheerful expression then melted away, replaced with a hardened mask.

"That file was the report I've requested from your case worker." Utahime said in a low tone." Specifically, it was related to the alleged bullying of Taylor Hebert."

Sophia remained silent as she sat stiffly. Utahime nodded with approval as their eyes met.

"I'm glad to hear that so far, no one has linked anything regarding her to you." The older cape gave a small smirk. "I won't be around much, but do note if anything happens here in Winslow leads back to you Piggot will know, despite Principal Blackwell's best efforts."

The redhead leaned towards the Ward, her golden brown eyes boring into Sophia.

" _I_ will know." Sophia's clenched her fist and took in deep breaths as Utahime continued. "You really don't wanna hear what kind of music I play when I'm riled up."

Ward and teacher exchanged glares before Utahime leaned back. Sophia unclenched her fists as her breathing slowed.

"That'll be all, Sophia." The Ward stood up, her chair toppling over at the rapid ascension. Sophia gave another hateful look at the teacher before she left the room. Utahime shook her head as the teen parahuman stormed out of the room and the walls shook when she slammed the door shut. The redhead retrieved another file and looked at her watch for the next appointment. Utahime put on her brightest smile as she heard soft knocking on her door.

"Ms Jabroski?"

"It's Jougasaki, Taylor." The teacher said warmly even as she winced internally at the careful tone used by her student. "Call me Mika when we're alone, okay?"

The teacher's eyes narrowed when she noticed the dripping wet hair and juice marks on the lanky teen's brown jacket.

"Tell me everything." Taylor flinched when the teacher growled

 **/X/**

(September, 1999, Shikoku, Japan)  
Lung cast a disdainful gaze over the huddled masses at the dock, while ships of every size called and unloaded their cargo of more teeming throngs of desperate humanity onto the soil of Shikoku. The tattooed cape averted his eyes from the crowd, having seen his fill of refugees lamenting their misfortune whether in words or through the look on their faces. Every few minutes, the drab colours of the refugee tide will be broken by streaks of bright colour when another teleporter or flyer cape appears and drops another cargo of survivors.

" _More human refuse to dumped by both the so called heroes and the gaijin capes._ " Lung thought as the new arrivals sought to insert themselves into the endless lines for supplies.

"Can't even be bothered to sort them out. Typical gaijin." The cape snorted as he saw scuffles break out between a few more impatient refugees. Swamped JSDF and US Army personnel sought to break up the fights that sparked among the human wave, but found themselves swamped. Lung wandered if those near him would soon allow desperation to overcome their self preservation and attempt to grab his share of supplies. The cape looked over his neighbours, who kept a wide berth even as they eyed his stash hungrily. Smoke flowed out of the nostrils of his metal dragon mask as Lung began to grow.

"Broom! Soko wa Broom da!"

Lung felt his building rage short circuit at the sheer bizarre spectacle of people shouting over a cleaning tool, using English at that. Then he heard the distant sound of electric guitar riffs interspersed with the steady beat of the bass of an electronic organ. The music stirred up memories of his youth, when the radio played in the family living room.

"It's Bloom!" This time the shouts were from some of the English speaking gaijin troops sent to maintain order. "She's out of retirement!"

The music got louder and Lung's eyes widened as he saw a woman dressed in a red and white dressed with yellow studs fly above the mob in a saucer shaped platform. Strobe lights below lit up the sky and faces of the cheering refugees, while speakers blasted out the music which competed with the roars that arose from the crowd.

" _No, not crowd. An audience_." Lung thought as he watched his childhood idol shake the hands of eager fans from her platform without breaking her stride as she continued to sing.

 _kon'ya wa HARIKE-N  
anata ni HARIKE-N  
tsutaetai no Loving You... (Loving You) _

Lung gave a wry smile at the choice of song, considering that Kyushu had been engulfed by the sea only a few hours before. Still, the audience apparently didn't mind as Bloom made her way above them. The iron-masked cape tensed as the singer's platform hovered above him, his pulse racing at seeing someone he admired once in the flesh. He found himself straightening his pants and not caring that he looked foolish.

" _Steel yourself, Kenta_!" The cape roared in his head at his own pathetic display. " _She's a relic from your past! Before that damned dancer humiliated you! She betrayed you when she quit to marry some unknown!"_

Then Bloom smiled as she descended from the platform, a rainbow streaming behind her as her shoes touched the waterlogged earth.

And Lung found himself in love again.

/x/

(November, 1989, Los Angeles, USA)  
Lucky watched the mahogany doors leading to the meeting room intently as she touched the tip of her fedora. She pursed her lips as her trembling fingers rested on the hat before she moved them to the top of her fedora and removed it completely. As the trainer ran her slender fingers through her wavy mane, her ears perked at the sounds of dismay and begging that leaked from beyond the doors.

"Never thought I'd reject the Groove." Lucky muttered under her breath while she prepared herself for the confrontation her power had warned her about.

"Guess I'm not above some self denial."

Lucky slapped her hat back on as the heavy doors swung open, her ears ringing from the shouts emerging like a tide from the room. The most successful idol singer in history emerged, her face plain and dressed in a simple grey business suit with her wavy, dark hair tied into a bun. Trainer and idol shared a sigh of relief as the wooden doors closed with a thump, blocking off the incessant noise from the gathered suits within.

"Bloom." Lucky said as she glared at the singer. "Or do you prefer to go by Mrs Annette Hebert now?"

"Please don't make it more difficult, Lucky." Annette pleaded as she held onto her trainer's hands.

"You're a legend, Bloom!" Lucky burst out, her cheeks flushed with anger. " _Zion_ himself attends all your Lives!"

Annette's face hardened as she faced her mentor. Lucky returned the favour.

"You _can_ stop me if you really want to, Lucky."

Both women stared at each other, before Annette broke the stalemate and walked past the trainer.

"Mika will be so disappointed." Annette stopped and glared with narrowed eyes at her trainer. "She's looking forward to training with you once she's old enough to join as a junior idol."

The retired idol stopped mid-stride and spun on her heels towards the trainer.

"That's a low blow, Lucky." Annette said frostily before she took a deep breath and continued in a gentler tone. "I'm sure you can bring out her talents."

"Answer me this, Bloom." Annette sighed at Lucky's trembling tone. "Is love and that man so worth it? That you'd abandon our plan and your chance to make a real impact on history?"

"Hell yeah it is." Annette said with a smile. She squeezed Lucky's shoulder and didn't flinch as her mentor shrugged it off roughly.

"Maybe someday you'd understand." The idol planted a kiss on Lucky's cheek before she waved goodbye.

Lucky watched as the singer who's music reached an Entity left the building.

" _Okay then_." Lucky thought.

" _Time for B-Side._ "


	9. Live 4 Act 1

I Wanna Be An Idol!

Live 4-Act 1

/x/

Utahime did a final costume check while she stood at the entrance from the second floor to the lobby of the PRT building, before she went down to meet the new girls. She adjusted the hat strap that held her black, miniature fedora that glittered from the studs inserted into the black material, while the golden trim on her shimmering white blouse glowed to her satisfaction. Her knee length boots with red trim over white leather formed a swirling vision as she tested a few rudimentary moves, while her black shorts formed a pleasing contrast with the rest of her uniform. Peering into the mirror, the cape nodded before she turned her gaze to the oncoming commotion outside the building.

Utahime watched nervously as the reinforced one-sided glass doors of the PRT lobby slid open with a hiss and a deafening roar shook the building before two idols and Producer dashed into safety. Armsmaster and a line of PRT troops in full riot gear formed a shield wall as they held back the horde of journalists yelling questions, along with the throng of fans who had heard about Spotlight's appearance at the PRT building. More PRT troopers filed out of the lobby as they rushed to hold the line, and Utahime considered joining in for she feared that they horde will break through.

Spotlight's arms will break from all those autographs, Utahime thought. Relief flooded her heart as the doors finally shut after the PRT finally managed to push the human wave beyond the door, but her relief was short-lived as she saw Spotlight and her new colleague turn on one another.

"What the hell is your problem," Spotlight bit out as she glared at the blonde idol. "You outed yourself in front of the press!"

Oh shit, this is bad, Utahime thought as she raced down the stairs as Lisa started to lay into Spotlight.

"I just figured if I'm going into showbiz, might as well go the whole hog," Lisa said. "Unlike being a normal cape, being a celeb means you want everyone to know who you are."

"But.."

"Of course," Lisa continued. "It helps I am actually good looking."

Spotlight narrowed her eyes at the barely implied dig as she snarled.

"It'd probably also help a lot," Spotlight said, "if Producer won't need to get Dragon, Armsmaster and the rest of the Tinker population in the world so you can carry an auto-tune with the aid of a bucket."

"Girls!"

Both idols clapped their hands onto their ears and fell to their knees as Utahime yelled at them. Their gaze turned to the senior cape, who left a trail of floating neon musical notes as she glided down the stairs on a cloud of disappearing song sheets. Spotlight's face lit up in recognition as she saw the heroine approach, but found herself silenced by a look of disapproval from Utahime.

"Honestly," Utahime huffed as she placed her hands on her hips, "is there anything you girls won't fight about when there isn't any adult supervision?"

"Adult supervision?" Spotlight frowned before she turned to where Producer was standing only a few minutes ago. "Damn it."

"He's probably out somewhere trying to trap another young lady into pop-servitude," Lisa said with a shrug. "He's a total menace, and he's stuck me with a unmarketable twig as my unit partner."

"Hey! Producer's not a menace," Taylor said," and I'm not a twig!"

"Of course you're not," Lisa said. "You're a twig who is into older and pudgy men."

Swarms of cockroaches, flies and bees swarmed out of the corners of the lobby, as Spotlight glared coldly at Lisa.

"You will not imply any such thing about Producer or me," Taylor hissed, "I know for damn sure I don't feel that way regarding Producer."

Lisa's face hardened even as the insects buzzed closer.

"Take it back," Taylor said, "now."

Glowing musical notes shot towards the swarms and the insects scattered or burned as they burst into fireworks that rippled across the air. Utahime slid towards the remaining swarms like a ballerina, each jerk and snap of her arms and legs leaving a trail of light and sound as she cleared the bugs. Job done, the older cape landed in front of the two fighting idols, her eyes hard as she bore into them.

"Seriously, stop."

Both idols glared at each other and Utahime, but nodded their heads as they saw the glowing notes with the ripples in the air. Utahime's expression softened in response and hugged both teenagers.

"You girls are going to a lot of work, especially once Shadow Stalker gets involved."

Lisa made a face at the mention of the Ward.

"Oh yeah, she's involved with us too huh."

"Yeah, speaking of her," Spotlight said, "where is she?"

"It's her day off, actually so I don't think she appreciates having Spotlight here drag her into that impromptu live at Downtown." Utahime said while looking at Spotlight, "Plus Producer's probably got some plans to finalise her status."

"Status?" Both girls echoed.

"Yep, both of you are now under contract to Pro Talent Agency," Utahime said brightly. "Welcome to the team!"

Both girls stumbled as Utahime gave an unexpected pat on their backs, before she turned towards Spotlight, her gaze accusing.

"So, what's this I've heard about an unauthorised sing-off with Shadow Stalker."

/x/

Sophia walked towards her mother's house at Stonemast Avenue, her new glamourous look a stark contrast to the unkempt lawns and strewn garbage of the neighbourhood homes. The downbeat tempo of the background music amplified the dreary feel of her town, something Sophia had managed to learn to tune out, only for the sudden clarity afforded by her new powers to drive home how bad things have gotten.

"Fucking idol bullshit powers," Sophia muttered while the mournful double bass and the tinkle of the piano played in her head as she observed the urban decay.

Still, having her throw a fit when she saw my outfit was almost worth getting Mastered by the fat fuck, Sophia thought. It's been so long since she expressed any kind of emotion other than general lethargy and being a complete nag.

The door to her mother's house opened, and Sophia wished she had her crossbow with her while she heard the record scratch.

"Hello Sophia," her mother said as she raised her pen from the paper. "Just in time to meet your new legal guardian."

Sophia's eyes turned to Producer who sat across the table from her mother, his face more sombre than usual as he countersigned the document her mother had inked not long ago.

"It's over, Sophia," her mother said gravely. "Between your anger issues, your...extra curricular activities and raising your brothers I cannot take more of this."

Producer's phone flashed as he took a photo of the document, while her mother stood up and faced her. Sophia noted her mother seemed both more lifeless and relieved than she had ever seen her since she could walk.

"I've given you up for adoption. I sincerely hope you find a better home with Producer and the PR-"

The thin walls of the house shook as Sophia slammed the door shut. Producer stared at the doorway before he took placed his copy of the documents into his briefcase and shook the hand of Sophia's former mother.

"Thank you, Mrs Hess."

"Please, Producer," Mrs Hess said as she kept her eyes on the door,"try to give her the home I wasn't able to."

"I will, Mrs Hess."

The woman turned to face the new guardian of her only daughter, only to meet an empty seat.

/x/

Finding his charge wasn't difficult, given the capabilities of his Vision. Producer saw Sophia, seated next to the rusted swing in an once thriving playground with her head buried between her knees. Producer approached slowly, careful to not set off his violate idol and came to a stop ten paces behind her.

"Fuck off," Sophia growled in a hoarse voice, "fuck off and die, you fat fuck."

"After I'm done making sure you're alright." Producer dodged a piece of broken pavement, as he stood rooted behind Sophia. A comfortable silence settled in, broken only by the occasional shout and doors closing in the distance to remind them of their surroundings.

"I can hear you, you know."

Producer blinked, as he walked closer to his idol.

"Pardon?"

"Your theme song," Sophia said. " You, and almost everyone else of significance has a goddamned theme song." Sophia's eyes twinkled as she zoomed in on him and stood up, her skirt fluttered as she brushed off the dust.

"Any idea how it works?" Sophia said. "This whole having background music playing in your head, the urge to dance and sing. How do you deal with it?"

"I don't," Producer said. "I'm not an idol, so I cannot hear the tunes."

"Lucky you," Sophia snorted. "So, why me?"

"Because you have a beautiful scowl."

"I'll show you a beautiful scowl you fat-"

"I speak the truth, Sophia," Producer held out his hands. "My Vision tells me when to approach the ones who's time is ready, who's Song has matured."

Sophia cast a questioning scowl at Producer, but beckoned for him to continue.

"You took my card without question, then you began your first Live. You're ready to take the stage-"

"Don't want it," Sophia cut in. "Release me from the Master effect now."

"You misunderstand, Sophia," Producer said as he shook his head. "I didn't Master you. I only unlocked your talent when the time was right."

Sophia stood straight and defiant as she met Producer's gaze.

"Do you really want to go back to how you were before, Sophia?" Sophia clicked her tongue, as Producer studied her expression. "When you could not hear the music and the unending chorus of creation?"

Sophia choked as she stifled a laugh, but failed as she witnessed Producer's baffled expression.

"God! And they call me a chew knee!" Sophia raised her fingers into quotation marks,"Chorus of creation! God that's so corny! Gah!"

"You should laugh more often, Sophia. Not the sneering kind I've seen you do," Producer said, "but something more natural, joyful."

Sophia's face darkened as she closed in on Producer, grabbing him by the front of his shirt.

"Are you implying anything? Because if you imply I'm anything like that beanpole Hebert I'll-"

"You are strong, Sophia. But you're also damaged," Producer said even as his idol's scowl deepened, "and it's a shame that someone had to be forced to become strong at your age."

"The fuck do you care, Chambers," Sophia shoved Producer away. "Worried that the audience won't like it if I call them a bunch of losers?"

"A producer cares for every aspect of his idols, Sophia. And I've cared about every parahuman that ever approached me for a makeover," Sophia scoffed as she remembered her first meeting,"even if I had to consider the needs of the PRT as well."

"Sophia, it's the fault of us adults that children and the youth are traumatised enough to trigger," Producer said, "and one major reasons we producers exist to create and scout idols is to change that."

"Wow," Sophia said flatly. "Changing the world one manufactured, by the numbers pop song at a time."

"It's only natural, Sophia for us producers and idols to make things right and set the rules straight again."

"Rules of nature, huh?" Sophia stumbled as she felt a sudden jolt to her senses, before she bared her teeth in a predatory grin.

"You know something, Producer? I think I've found my song for the sing-off."

Sophia turned and walked back towards her former home, while Producer followed close behind.

"You will need help moving your luggage to your new home," Producer said as he fished out his phone, "I'll call for the movers."

"No need," Sophia snorted, "it's not as if I've got a lot of stuff I wanna keep. But I'll be needing an increase in my allowance though."

Producer blinked in confusion at his idol's greedy smile.

"Yeah," Sophia grabbed onto her new outfit," this threads don't come cheap. I'll be in your care."

"Not an issue," Producer said calmly as he jotted in his notebook," will there be anything else."

"Sure do, Producer," Sophia said. "What the hell's a Chew Knee Bureau anyway? Sounds like something Bonesaw would think off, not that girl scout Vista and Clockblocker."

Producer told idol, and lo did the idol rage. While the skies did not bleed nor did fire rain down from the clouds, more than a few curious neighbours poked their heads out of their windows before being pulled back in to avoid becoming like the proverbial cat.

"Vista! I'm gonna kill you!"  
/x/

Taylor panted while she kept her eyes on the devil incarnate, who performed her devlish deeds by running her new "teammate" Lisa ragged. Her faded t-shirt and tights clung to her sweaty frame, while she struggled for air as her body screamed for rest. A dance studio in the Protectorate Rig was something Taylor had never expected them to have, but she wasn't about to complain about having well constructed facilities to train in. The mirrored walls, the handlebars, the smooth wooden floors and the bright lights in a well air-conditioned room was far more than she could have hoped for in Winslow.

The coach on the other hand...

"Lisa's a complete bitch," Taylor muttered between gasps of air, "but even she doesn't deserve this."

"You call that a mezzo-soprano, Lisa?" Utahime said as she pressed down on the stomach of the rookie idol, "It sounded more like a cat being mangled by a pit bull!"

"Hey, how did you know of what Bitch's dogs did-okay! Okay!" Lisa winced as Utahime's gaze hardened. "No more snark! Just don't screech again!"

"So long as you stop suggesting lip-synching," Utahime said while she checked her watch. Taylor shuddered as the older cape looked at her, and felt a tinge of disappointment when Utahime sighed while she observed her skipping practice. She clapped her hands and motioned for the two idols to stand in front of her, before she glanced at her watch again.

"We actually have another forty-five minutes of practice time scheduled," Utahime frowned at the collective groan and silenced any complaints with a cold glare." But you girls are obviously too raw for the normal training, so I'll be devising something new for you. Lisa, report to Producer for processing for your new cape ID."

"No snarky remarks on how he got here," Lisa said,"too tired to care."

"Good," Utahime said before she turned to Taylor. "Taylor, grab a fresh towel and some water on our way towards my office."

As Lisa trudged out of the studio into the waiting arms of Miss Militia, Taylor followed Utahime and gulped directly from the flask, before she coughed a fit when she choked on the warm water.

"Slowly, sip the water and let it wet your lips," Utahime said as she rubbed Taylor's back. "Don't rush it."

Taylor nodded as she settled down, before she followed the older cape into her office. Taylor's eyes widened as she saw the walls painted in soft pink and blue, the posters of several singers, some whom she recognised and the colourful bean bag cushions strewn in several corners of the room. The only sign of an office was the singular desk with two chairs facing each other, and even then the table was covered in a frilly, rainbow coloured mat. Utahime hummed a tune while she slid over to the a corner stuffed with bean bags and pillows and plonked herself with a satisfied sigh onto the largest one in the middle, before she waved Taylor over with a wide smile.

"So, Taylor," Utahime said, "guess I was correct to speculate that you had triggered when I rescued you from the locker."

Taylor's face stiffened as she recalled the incident, as she studied the face of the older cape.

"You rescued me? But it was Ms Jougosaki who..." Taylor squinted her eyes, "you're Ms Mika Jougosaki! That means you're a-"

"Correct! I'm an idol, just like you. Don't you just love our inbuilt Stranger effect?"

Taylor slumped into her bean bag, while she visibly unwound and stared at the ceiling with its painted stars.

"Wow," Taylor said with a smile," guess I'm part of something great here."

"You don't know the half of it, Taylor. So," Mika grinned as she rolled over the lined up cushions to one next to the younger idol, "you decided on a song yet? For the sing-off I mean."

"Nope, I'm stumped," Taylor admitted. "Don't wanna rehash the song I've performed earlier today, so I have to get something new."

"Yeah, that'd be a problem, won't it?" Mika scratched her chin, before her eyes lit up as she turned towards Taylor.

"Say, you've heard of Bloom?"

"Yeah," Taylor nodded. "Big thing back in the eighties and resurfaced for a disaster relief concert during Kyushu. Mom was a big fan and said she was breaking records before Canary could walk!"

"Your mom must love her," Mika said with a gentle smile.

"Yep," Taylor's face fell slightly," Mom used to sing a lot of her songs when she was alive, even had a whole book with Bloom's music inside. Read it once, then it got lost a few months ago."

"Oh," Mika placed a hand over her mouth," I'm sorry Taylor. Didn't know your mother has passed away."

"Nah, it's...not okay," Taylor said," because it's still kinda raw but I'm learning to get over it."

Taylor yelped slightly as Mika grabbed her into a hug and pressed her head on her shoulder.

"Your mother would be proud of you."

"Hey quit it," Taylor said while she blinked away the forming tears, "you sound like you know her."

"Just because I'm not old enough to have a kid doesn't mean I'm don't have a mother," Mika huffed before she broke into a giggle. "So, you open for a suggestion?"

"Sure," Taylor's face regained some cheer," what do you suggest?"

"Bloom's debut for her first Live and single," Mika said.

"Which is?"

Mika leaped to her feet and pulled out a mic.

"Idol flash!"


	10. Live 4 Act 2

Live 4 Act 2

/x/

Erik Steiner looked up at the grey skies above, the looming clouds a stark reminder he was not only stuck in a mostly dead shithole of a city, but he was stuck with too many undesirables who spoke languages he didn't understand and had a skin tone that's not beige. He glared at said undesirables as they walked past him in a pack, solidifying his view that Brockton Bay had too much of them.

After all, one of them was walking and breathing. That's one too many.

As the pack left his line of vision, and he bid good riddance by yelling out what he thought of them to before one of his seniors in the Empire approached. Erik had much respect for the older skinhead who went by the name Samson, a good Aryan name as far as he was concerned. Erik stood up and snapped to attention, which annoyed Samson to no end, who sighed and rubbed his freshly shaved and shined dome. Erik swore to snap to attention one and a half seconds faster next time.

"Erik," Samson intoned with much solemnity," I bring bad news."

"Bad news, brother? Is it the Jews again?"

"It's always the Jews, Erik," Samson said with a tinge of irritation at the redundant nature of his brother's query, for the international banker is always up to devious evil such as late charges on your bill. "The only difference is how much of Jew trickery. Today, Karl, your brother was bewitched by one of their agents in the form of a pop idol!"

Erik felt the fire of righteous fury burn in his chest as Samson took out a phone he recognised as Karl's. Samson gave a mournful gaze to the phone that laid low one of their own, then to Karl before him spoke in a low tone.

"Beware, Erik. I've confiscated this phone after I've heard him bopping his head like some degenerate to some Zionist pop-filth. Apparently, he was going to watch some kind of streaming video in his quest to further debase himself."

Erik's fire burned brighter as Samson started the stream. He will now learn what evil has been wrought upon his racial brother.

/x/

The camera shook, before it focused onto a bright dance studio with a large mirrored wall. A teenage girl, tall with black wavy hair stretched herself in a corner of the room next to the mirror. She wore black tights, loose cotton shorts and a pink sleeveless t-shirt over it, and was putting on stripped leg warmers when the camera zoomed in on her. Bright green eyes stared at the camera, and her black curly bangs with brown highlights waved frantically as the teen yelped in surprise at the sudden intrusion.

"Oh Utahime!" The girl yelped as she backed away from the camera. "Go away! I'm preparing for dance practice!"

This is a candid shot! Now, go ahead and introduce yourself.

"You serious?! Oh man, I'm totally not prepared for this."

Erik felt a strange heat on his face as the girl fretted about her hair and straightened her clothes before she gave a smile to the camera. It wasn't the most glamorous or even perfect of smiles, and it was a bit crooked at the right end edge of the mouth. But the earnestness shone through when she grinned so widely, her eyes almost disappeared like a Chinese who found a stray cat behind his shop.

"Hi! I'm Spotlight. You've probably recognise me from my Live at Downtown four days ago. Umm, Top Hat Guy? If you're watching this, I'm sorry for taking your hat away during the performance. You can have it back if you want it," Spotlight then waved a purple top hat into the camera. "And that skinhead who asked for my autograph? Thanks for being my first fan! Umm, even if you were going to commit a hate crime on me. For the record, I'm not actually Jewish,"

Erik pumped his fist, before a glare from Samson stopped him.

"But even if I was, I still hope you will stop doing that, okay?"

"See!" Samson exclaimed. "The witch bares her fangs!"

 _Well, I wish she'd bite me,_ thought Erik before he caught himself slipping. He thought of good decent things-white things. Like Shepard's pie, whiskey and death metal music while he continued his quest to study the enemy's insidious plot to undermine hearts and minds with candid videos.

So Spotlight, why did you choose idolhood anyway?

"The idol life really chose me. Producer appeared at my school, then told me I had a beautiful smile before he said he wanted me to be a star."

So you swooned and took up his offer?!

"Well, no!" Spotlight flushed. "He acted like a creep, so I yelled for the police and they clubbed him on the head before dragging him away."

Ha! Classic Producer. I bet all of our boys and girls in blue knows about him by now.

Spotlight giggled, and Erik looked around to ensure that no one he knew was around before he continued to watch. The camera had left the studio, and was walking down a plain hallway as they trailed behind Spotlight's back. Her wavy hair seemed to float as she walked, and small specks of light darted in and out of her clothes. Erik sneaked a glance at Samson, who continued to watch stone-faced.

So, Spotlight. Where are you taking us?

"Oh that?" Spotlight stopped outside a door marked Talent Production Agency, and pushed open the door gently. An office with a view of the bay was revealed, with several large grey leather sofas placed prominently in the middle of the room. The camera focused on a blonde teen in a purple, sequined skirt and small hat, who gave an animal-grin as the lenses focused on her. Erik watched gape-jawed as the newcomer adjusted her purple dress and touched up on her lipstick that matched her red earrings, before she blinked and the young skinhead felt relief that his heart throbbed for the blonde beauty in front of him.

 _Oh thank God! I thought I was completely ensnared by Spotlight. But now, this Aryan beauty will save me!_

So, why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Sure!" The blonde said perkily before she looked straight into the camera. "Hi everyone! I'm Lisa. Y'know, I was supposed to have a stage name and all, but you know what, bleep it!"

Lisa blinked at the sound effect, before she mouthed off another expletive.

"Holy bleep! Real Time Censorship on a live stream! This is bleeping awesome!"

Okay, Lisa. Can it with the valley girl act. You're from up north.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyways I was approached by Producer, who was up to his usual tricks. Dodging the police, being all creepy but kinda adorable in his own creepy way. Oh, and Boss? Yeah, you know who you are. I'm with Producer now, so if you can somehow track him down and take care of him, you...still won't be getting me back. I know you know I'm not exactly loyal, but yeah. He wants me, and showbiz is better than crime biz even in this town. I'm not a good singer, not that good a dancer, but if it means I'm away from you, then yeah."

Lisa flashed two raised fists towards the camera, with most of the hands blotted out by a bright light.

"I'm sure you get the message, even with the two globs of light blocking my hands. Peace out!"

The camera shook as it turned towards the roof of the room, revealing uncovered pipes and a metal ceiling before it zoomed back into the grimacing face of Spotlight, who glared off-screen before she looked back at Erik.

"Right, now that Lisa's done provoking a supervillain, let's cut to Producer and Shadow Stalker!"

"Finally! Shadow Stalker!"

Erik gave a suspicious glance to Samson, who waved off the younger neo-Nazi without removing his gaze from the screen.

"Just eager to enact due justice against her. You know how I feel about Shadow Stalker after she pinned me to the wall a week ago."

The screen transitioned seamlessly, as it changed to the grey skies and rocky sands of Brockton Bay's beach. The Ship Graveyard was visible in the background, and in the dreary backdrop a black teenager in a black knee length dress with gold trims glared at the camera. The purple bat hair accessories next to her beret fluttered and glowed as if alive, while her light purple mantle shimmered with glass studs. Both skinheads studied the unmasked face of the former Ward turned idol, but drew a blank.

"Unmasked, and we're still unable to tell her apart from the others. Why do they all look the same?!"

So, Shadow Stalker. Why not you introduce yourself to your fans?

"Bite me, you fat fuck. You're the one who mastered me and put a goddamn soundtrack in my head!" Shadow Stalker blinked before she bared her teeth in delight. "I can swear?! I can fucking swear!"

Yes. I figured this would be more in line with your already existing image, so I did not have Armsmaster's speech filter installed for your segment of the promotional video.

"You damn right it fits!" Shadow Stalker snarled before she turned back to glare at the camera. "Now listen, all you criminal scum. Just because I developed a taste for karaoke and bright shiny costumes, doesn't mean I won't grind you sad sacks into the ground and haul you to join your friends in jail! You got that?! When we meet in some dark alley while I hunt you down, I'm still gonna pin you to the wall, beat the shit out of you!"

Shadow Stalker flashed her crossbow, now painted matte black with blood red gems carved into the wooden frame.

"See here?!" the idol tapped at the bolt on the crossbow. "It got your name on it! In blood!"

Samson peered closer at the screen, in hopes of seeing his name before he slumped back when it was clear there was no name written on it. Erik just looked at the time on the stream, wondering when Lisa and Spotlight will return.

"So you see-why the fuck are you laughing, Vista?!"

The camera zoomed away from Shadow Stalker, and showed Vista in her green pixie costume bent over in laughter.

"I said," Shadow Stalker snarled. "What the fuck are you laughing about?"

"Oh God," Vista choked out between her laughs. "Don't ever change from your new look, Stalker. You're simply precious!" Vista said as she dodged a red tip bolt. The youngest Ward then straightened up and the camera followed her as she walked over to several hulks of metal and wood next to the shore. Stage crew dressed in t-shirts with the PRT logo scurried around the hulks, yelling directions and setting up lights before the camera focused back onto Vista.

"Hi everyone! Sorry for those of you who loved my previous duet with Shadow Stalker," Off-camera, a string of expletives in German and English could be heard. "But I'm not here for an encore with Stalker. Instead, with the help of Dragon, her friends from the Guild and some people we can't name for various contractual reasons I'm here to do _this_."

Vista stretched out her hands, as several Dragon suits dragged the hulks together. Space twisted, and the hulks came together to form a stage with metal steps with a wooden finish that spiralled to a raised dais. A black SUV dashed to the foot of the dais, and Lisa and Spotlight clambered out of the vehicle chased by Utahime. The camera shook as the camera man dashed over to the trio of newcomers, who waved at the camera before Shadow Stalker glumly walked onscreen and joined the other idols. Lisa looked bored, Spotlight looked nervous, while Shadow Stalker looked like herself. One more passenger then came out of the black SUV, a cape dressed like a Victorian doll with a porcelain mask and blonde curls. She glanced at the camera, waved before she walked over to the three teenage idols and hand them a glowing orb each.

"And here you girls go. The joint project Armsmaster and the Guild requested," the doll-faced cape said before she turned towards the camera again, and spoke.

"Name's Parian! If you like what you're about to see, and I think you will, you know where to find my shop!"

A burst of light from off-screen and the sound of fireworks going off drowned out Parian, and the camera focused back onto the idol trio who walked hand in hand to the stage. Erik gripped his chest in excitement, afraid his heart will burst out of his throat when Spotlight stood forward and began to speak.

"Everyone, thanks for watching us wherever you may be. And yes, this is our first official Live here in Brockton, and also the first as a unit."

The other two stepped up, and clasped Spotlight's hands as they spoke with one voice.

"We're Spectrum! And this is our song to you! Summer Coloured Smiles, 1, 2 Jump!"

Grey clouds gave way to bright blue as the sun poured its rays onto the stage, and a ball of light engulfed the trio before they stepped out in striped one-piece swimsuits, a shimmering transparent sarong and sleeveless vests. Their earrings and brooches gleamed along with their smiles as they waved towards the crowds that walked to the stage before the screen went dead.

"Hey, what gives?" Both skinheads yelled as a screen appeared with a stylized Utahime holding a map. Samson's eyes squinted, before he sighed and pulled out his wallet.

"Samson. Brother. What are you doing?"

"What does it look like, Erik. We're not going to make it the Ship Graveyard by the time the performance is over, so I'm paying to watch! Now give me your credit card too."

"What?" Erik shouted in disbelief. "Why do you need my card?"

"Because there's a lucky draw for those who purchase more than one ticket for a chance to attend a meet and greet as well as the sing-off between Shadow Stalker and Spotlight! Or do you want to disappoint Spotlight?"

Erik shuddered as the image of a downcast Spotlight looking upon him in disappointment played in his head, before he took out his one remaining credit card that the bankers had not cancelled.

 _I'll do anything for..for..._

Erik struggled for the word, before he remembered one term he heard his cousin who was full bore into degeneracy and idols had used before.

 _My waifu. I'll do anything for my waifu._

/x/

Cornell University. A hallowed institute of learning. A century and half's worth of scholars have walked her halls, and many a great idea that went on to benefit humanity found its genesis here. Of course, with academia, comes disagreement. Sometimes it takes a rather violent form of protest, when a brilliant but misguided mind takes offence at disagreement from what he considers inferior minds. Riots, duels, sometimes even bringing a bear to campus as Lord Byron did in Cambridge.

Creating bombs that turned people into frogs however? Now that's a rather thankfully rare occurrence in the annals of campus violence.

"Ms Nakajima," a thin man with pale skin and a long face said, his calm voice belied the mortal fear he felt of being turned into an amphibian. He had a chronic phobia of frogs. "If you'll just listen to reason."

A puff of smoke, shattered glass and a wall came tumbling down. Then, instead of the moans and screams that usually accompanied a bombing- the unceasing croaking of frogs. And a few toads, and quite a number of tadpoles too.

The professor frowned. He preferred his crazed domestic bombers to be competent if they're going for themed mayhem.

A woman with long black hair, crazed blue eyes and an old cell phone stared into the eyes of the thin man.

"You gave me a B plus instead of an A! I'm an Asian, not B-sian!"

"Ms Nakajima..."

Lia Nakajima brandished her phone.

"Change my grade now! Or I'll turn every last warm body in this dump of a campus into so many frog legs all of Quebec will choke!"

/x/

Paige glanced to her left at her former producer, who was busy adjusting her white fedora before she turned her nervous gaze at the gathered police. It won't be long before the New York Protectorate arrived in force, and she's not confident even the hatted woman can get the both of them out unscathed if Legend were to arrive.

"Ms Lucky, are you absolutely sure that you have to be here? Can't you like wait for the Protectorate to bust her before you spring her like you did me?"

"Oh Paige. Still the same as the first time I've scouted you and made you a junior idol."

Paige pouted, and brushed away Lucky's gloved hand as her old mentor patted her head. Her producer chuckled, and the pitch perfect wonder that was her laugh made Paige wondered why she never took to the stage.

"Trust in the Groove, Paige. Trust in the Groove."

/x/

The music started suddenly, and Lily pressed the button on the phone she had set to explode the bombs. A voice in her head asked her which one was it, and to this she replied.

Enough.

Loud cracks and the roar of tumbling walls brought a smile onto the face of the new parahuman, before she noticed instead of croaks and wailing, the synthesized beats, bass and electronic organ grew louder. Lily scowled and pressed a few more buttons for another set of explosives she had planted, but no gigantic fireballs burst out of the walls like they're supposed to. But that wasn't the worst part.

"Synth-pop!" Lia spat out as the music got louder. "I loathe synth-pop!"

 _Your butt is mine. Gonna tell you right_.

"Come and get it, bitch!" Lia snarled and triggered a bomb that filled the only hallway into the lecture hall with spikes.

 _Oww!_

"Ha! That hurts, doesn't it! Wait, you're not supposed to-"

 _Just show your face, in broad daylight. I'm telling you, on how I feel._

"Pain! You're supposed to feel excruciating pain and die!"

The freeze bombs she set on the walls detonated, turning glass and brick into a sheet of frozen ice that cracked and collapsed. A thin, tall woman with long hair and a deep suit studded with crystals slid backwards into the lecture hall. Lia tossed a few homemade bombs, before the woman stiffly turned towards her and leaned forwards at a perfect ninety degrees.

"Woo!"

Riot shields flew in from the collapsed walls and knocked against the bombs, the explosion and shrapnel showering everywhere except where Lia, the strange woman and her hostages were.

"This is bullshit! The bearings were supposed to rip everyone a couple hundred new breathing holes!"

Lia heard the boots thump their way in, every time the heels touched the ground her body jerked along. The parahuman bomber snarled at the SWAT team as they trooped in to the beat of the music, their heads throbbing, their limbs swaying to the electronica being played. But before Lia could reach for a switch hidden in her left ring finger, she was blinded by a fistful of stars.

 _Come on, come on. Lay it on me, alright?_

"Bitch! Take your flaky star dust away and I'll lay you alright!"

The sensation of hardened wood against her torso, before she felt more batons as they laid into her in sync with the music. The sound of her beating started to blend with the low growl of the electronic funk before she heard someone snap her fingers.

"To answer your earlier question," the singer said. "Not be able to speak because of all the spike? Yes, I agree."

Lia turned her bleary eyes around, only to get a face-full of frog for her troubles. She swore to never eat frog legs ever again after she felt their slimy limbs struggle in her face.

 _I'm telling you, on how I feel. Gonna hurt your mind, don't shoot to kill_.

Vision blocked by amphibian, Lia panicked as she felt her detonator phone slapped away.

 _Because I'm bad! I'm bad! (I'm really, really bad!)_

Lia summoned her last ounce of rage and strength to yell out who was doing back-up singing and that she sucked, but a punch to her face prevented her critique from being verbalised. All over the world, aspiring artists suddenly felt a strange surge of satisfaction.

 _And the whole world has to answer right now, just to tell you once again. Who's bad?_

A choke slam against the lecturer's table, and Lia felt the wind knocked out of her as the damned frog was finally removed from her face. Her assailant was unknown to her. Her companion on the other hand, was rather famous. She gaped at the blonde woman with freckles and the feathers that stuck out of her fringe, who gave a shy smile in return.

"Canary? Wut?"

Lia would speak some more, but being star-struck and plain old struck didn't leave her very chatty.

"Hi," Paige waved. "No autographs."

Before Lia spoke, she found herself dragged to the floor as the hatted woman placed her arm around her shoulders. Her predatory grin didn't lessen her fears in anyway.

"Lia Nakajima. Fresh trigger who got upset because her article wasn't given a grade she wanted."

"Drop dead."

"Maybe later," the fedora woman said. "But whatever you do, don't give yourself some lame name like Bakuda."

Lia was yanked forward, and she found herself inches from the face of her assailant.

"Name's Lucky. How'd you like to be a star?"

Lia reached for her hidden trigger in her back pocket, before her arms went numb when the woman pinched her shoulder.

"Join me," Lucky winked. "I promise you it'd be a blast."


End file.
